Four lawyers have been banned from their profession for life after investigations confirmed they bribed a judge, according to local Shenzhen press on Tuesday. The judge was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment.

The Southern Metropolitan News said it is the first time Shenzhen lawyers have had their licenses revoked and follows a yearlong campaign against judicial and legal corruption.

Judge Zheng Haishi, from the city’s intermediate people’s court, was found guilty of taking bribes of 1.43 million yuan (US$173,000).

Lawyers Li Xiyue, Pu Yongfa, Zhang Jian and Feng You offered Zheng 20,000 to 150,000 yuan between November 2000 and March 2003 in order to get favorable verdicts for their clients.

Twelve law offices were suspended during the cleanup campaign and another is under legal investigation.

Also in Shenzhen, former police chief An Huijun will stand trial late this month charged with taking bribes of more than 2 million yuan (US$240,000).

The 50-year-old is accused of accepting 1.6 million yuan (US$193,300), HK$530,000 (US$68,000), US$1,000 and two TV sets in bribes between 1996 and 2003 whilst chief of the Luohu District Public Security Sub-bureau.

She allegedly took 17 bribes, 15 being paid by police officers in exchange for job promotions, prosecutors said. She was also accused of getting bribes from an automobile supplier and a project contractor.

However, prosecutors did not deal with alleged "sex bribes" from some police officers, saying such activities, if any, were not covered by law. Only money and other tangible properties could be regarded as bribes, they said.

An’s case emerged in December during an investigation into complaints that some Luohu police took bribes while investigating a case. She had been vice chief of the city’s port office since June 2003.

(Shenzhen Daily April 14, 2005)