Ling Baoheng, Shanghai's former chief watchdog of state-owned
assets, became the second official to stand trial for alleged
involvement in the city's pension fund scandal, as his hearing
began yesterday.
Ling was charged with taking bribes totaling 500,000 yuan
(US$65,789) when he served as deputy director of the Shanghai
Economic Committee, vice president of Shanghai Light Industry
Holding Company (Group), and director of the Shanghai Municipal
State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.
Ling's lawyer, who declined to be identified, said Ling pleaded
guilty to the charges at the Shanghai First Intermediate People's
Court, but appealed for leniency in sentencing.
The court on June 14 heard the case of Wang Guoxiong, former
general manager of Shanghai Industrial Investment Group, who was
charged with taking bribes. Wang was the first official to be tried
in connection with the pension fund scandal.
The scandal was exposed to the public last year. In August,
state investigators started a probe of the embezzlement of the
city's corporate pensions, where 3.7 billion yuan was
misappropriated, including 3.45 billion yuan in principal and 250
million yuan in interest. Most of the money was invested in real
estate, roads, and other related projects.
Former Shanghai Party chief Chen Liangyu was fired last year for
his involvement in the scandal, and thirteen officials have been
expelled from the Party.
Other people involved include Wu Hongmei, former deputy director
of the Shanghai Municipal State-owned Assets Supervision and
Administration Commission; Yin Guoyuan, former deputy director of
Shanghai Housing, Land and Resources Administration; and Zhou
Zhengyi, former chairman of Shanghai Nongkai Development Group.
(Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2007)