The former chairman of Sinopec Corp, Chen Tonghai, has been expelled from the Communist Party of China on corruption charges, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday.

 

He also faces criminal prosecution.

 

"Chen has taken a huge amount of bribes and abused his power to gain inappropriate benefits for himself and his mistress.

 

"He led a decadent life, and his behavior is a severe breach of Party discipline," the report said.

 

Chen resigned from Sinopec, the country's second-largest oil and gas firm, in June, just two years before he was due to retire.

 

The oil industry veteran and former deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission is one of several senior officials who have been caught up in corruption scandals in recent years.

 

Among those charged last year were Qiu Xiaohua, former director of the National Bureau of Statistics; Zheng Xiaoyu, former head of the State Food and Drug Administration; and Chen Liangyu, former Party chief of Shanghai.

 

Zheng was executed for his crimes, while Chen and Qiu were removed from their posts.

 

(China Daily January 26, 2008)