A former Communist Party chief of a southwest Chinese county, who was sacked for connections with a riot at a rubber plant that led to two deaths, is in more trouble.

Hu Wenbin, former secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Menglian County Committee in Yunnan Province, went on trial Thursday for allegedly taking bribes exceeding 70,000 U.S. dollars from 12 people between 2003 and 2008, the Pu'er Municipal Intermediate People's Court heard.

The court did not say what people bribed him for.

Hu served as the Pu'er City's sports bureau director and Menglian Party chief during that period.

If found guilty he could be jailed.

He was striped of his post for dereliction of duty after a conflict between local farmers and a rubber plant escalated into a riot on July 19, 2008.

He said local gangsters were causing security problems at the plant, but actually the farmers were demanding higher pay from the plant.

Police used guns when attacked by more than 400 people. The shots killed two local people, while 13 others along with 41 policemen were injured in the incident.

Coincidentally, the former assistant mayor of Pu'er, Dao Lifu, who served as the government head and Party chief in Menglian between 1998 and 2004, also went on trial Thursday at the same court.

Dao allegedly took 546,000 yuan (US$88,064) in bribes from 20 people.

The court has not reached verdicts against the two.

(Xinhua News Agency June 12, 2009)