Former vice-governor stands accused of possessing unexplained properties

The corruption trial of Anhui province's former vice-governor Ni Fake got underway on Monday at Dongying Intermediate People's Court, in Shandong province, to avoid any conflicts of interest.

Ni stands accused of accepting huge bribes and having assets that appear to be beyond his legitimate means. Prosecutors said Ni took 49 bribes totaling 13 million yuan ($2 million) and possessed unexplained properties worth 5.8 million yuan.

Ni is suspected of abusing his power and accepting large bribes when he was mayor and Party chief in Lu'an, Anhui, and the provincial vice-governor.

His properties and expenditures obviously exceeded his income, and he couldn't identify the source of the "huge difference" between his salary and properties, the indictment said.

Ni was probed by the anti-graft authority in June for the misuse of power, accepting huge bribes and moral degeneracy. He was removed from his post and expelled from the Party in September.

The top procuratorate designated the procurator in Shandong on Oct 27 to file Ni's case in the Intermediate People's Court in Dongying.

Under current rules, China's anti-graft authorities pass corruption cases on to procurators at the appropriate levels after the authorities deem the officials have a case to answer. The procurators then further investigate the cases and file them in designated courts.

The cases are often tried in legal jurisdictions other than the one in which the officials held their posts to avoid any conflict of interest.

Corrupt officials are believed to have developed a tight network with local judicial personnel and could interfere with an independent judiciary.

Ni was alleged to have colluded with local businessmen and helped them with illegal mining and real estate property development.

Ni's case has drawn nationwide attention for his unique way of accepting bribes from businessmen. He was said to be obsessed by his passion for jade and accepted precious stones as bribes under the guise of "gifts" from friends.

Ni made a statement to the court in which he confessed to all the crimes in the indictment and said he would accept the court's ruling.

The court will announce its verdict at another time.

zhang_yi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 12/16/2014 page5)