Authorities in China have jailed three senior judges in Shenzhen for corruption in the southern city's biggest ever graft scandal. A court convicted retired judge Liao Zhaohui and divisional court chiefs Cai Xiaoling and Zhang Tinghua of unspecified graft crimes, the China Daily said in a report citing the Shenzhen Intermediate court.
They were among five senior judges arrested recently after the local prosecution office investigated their alleged acts of corruption, the report said. A series of raids last year led to the arrest of a court vice-president, three division heads and a retired judge, the report said.
The probe, which highlighted the endemic corruption in the Chinese judicial system, unfolded after prosecutors arrested judge Liao, who allegedly took bribes. Cai and Zhang allegedly appointed certain auction houses to deal with seized assets in bankruptcy cases. The report gave no details on Pei Hongquan, vice-president of Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court, or Pei's former wife, Li Huiliu, one of the division heads, both arrested in late September.
Corruption in China is rampant in a government system that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said this month leads to an "over-concentration of power without effective and proper restraint and oversight."
The problem has become one of the top causes of social discontent in booming China, sparking thousands of public disturbances every year, with officials repeatedly pledging to do more but apparently to little effect. China's chief judge Xiao Yang was the latest official voice to vow greater vigilance against rampant corruption.
"We must never relax our vigilance on corruption," Xiao told the China Daily in a report published Saturday. Xiao described the abuse of power in the nation's courts as "grave." In his report to the nation's annual parliamentary session held this month, Xiao said that of 292 judges investigated for corruption, 109 had been prosecuted.
Comments
Comments are closed.