Zheng Xiaoyu, the former director of China's State Food and Drug
Administration (SFDA), went on trial Wednesday accused of taking
bribes worth more than 6.4 million yuan (US$800,000), a Beijing
court said.
He is also charged with dereliction of duty, said a spokesman
with the Beijing Municipal No. 1 Intermediate People's Court.
Zheng, born in Dec. 1944, was appointed director of the SFDA
when it was created in March 1998. He was removed from the post in
June 2005.
In 2002, China adopted national standards for approving
medicines. All new medicines had to be approved by the SFDA before
they could be sold.
Zheng promoted a certification system called Good Manufacturing
Practice (GMP), which was brought into disrepute by a series of
health scares and corruption scandals.
He came under investigation by the Communist Party of China
Central Commission for Discipline Inspection in Dec. 2006 and was
expelled from the Communist Party in March 2007.
Earlier reports said that Zheng's subordinates provided evidence
against their former boss.
Hao Heping, former director of SFDA's Department of Medical
Devices and one of Zheng's former secretaries, was sentenced to 15
years in prison for bribery in November last year.
Cao Wenzhuang, former director of SFDA's Department of Drug
Registration and also another former secretary of Zheng, has been
under investigation since January of last year.
Zheng's trial continues.
(Xinhua News Agency May 17, 2007)