Seven police officers and two officials in east China's Anhui
Province have been penalized for taking bribes from an organized
crime gang, the local disciplinary commission said on Monday.
The seven police officers in Guangde County turned a blind eye
to illegal gambling houses operated by ring leader Xia Yongrong
between 2003 and 2005 after accepting more than 200,000 yuan in
gifts and cash, the commission said.
Xia offered the bribes and asked the officers to allow the
existence of the gambling houses. However, it resulted in police
also ignoring the other illegal activities carried out by the crime
ring.
Two officials with the Guangde County construction committee
were also penalized for taking bribes of 20,000 yuan each and
allowing Xia to build a gas station at a site selected for a
greening project.
The disciplinary commission and the supervision bureau of
Guangde County have handed one of the nine government employees
over to judicial authorities, expelled four from the Communist
Party of China and dismissed five from their posts, among other
penalties.
The 41-member ring headed by Xia Yongrong faced 13 charges
including gambling, fraud, drug trafficking and extortion in
Guangde between the late 1990s and the first half of 2005.
Four members including Xia were sentenced to 20 years in prison
in July.
(Xinhua News Agency November 6, 2007)