China's former railways minister went on trial on Sunday charged with accepting millions of dollars in bribes, state media reported, in the first high-profile corruption case under President Xi Jinping. The ex-minister, Liu Zhijun, stood trial in a court in Beijing, the official Xinhua news agency reported in a brief dispatch.
According to the indictment, Liu took advantage of his position to help 11 people win promotions or contracts, and accepted 64.6 million yuan ($10.5 million) in bribes between 1986 and 2011, Xinhua reported. "Liu's malpractices have led to huge losses of public assets and of the interests of the state and people, and he should be subject to criminal liabilities for bribe-taking and abuse of power," Xinhua quoted the indictment as saying.
The stakes are high for Liu. Under Chinese criminal law, the death penalty can be imposed for taking bribes over 100,000 yuan. State television reported that the trial was held at the Beijing No 2 Intermediate People's Court. It showed footage of the bespectacled Liu entering the courtroom and later standing before a panel of judges. Xinhua reported that prosecutors presented evidence, while Liu's defence attorney argued on his behalf. About 50 people were in attendance, the report said, including 60-year-old Liu's family members.
"The judgement will be announced on a day to be decided," Xinhua said. Liu's lawyer Qian Lieyang told the website of the People's Daily newspaper - the Communist Party mouthpiece - that Liu did not object to the charges against him and that the debate in court focused on the amount of money involved in the case. Qian said Liu argued that he did not think 49 million yuan of the amount stated in the prosecutor's charge amounted to bribery. Liu, known as the "father" of China's high-speed rail network for his role in pushing its development, was promoted to minister in 2003 after decades of work within the railway industry, and sacked in 2011.
He was expelled from the ruling Communist Party in November in a move widely seen as paving the way for the trial. Charges were filed in April, Xinhua reported at the time. It cited the indictment as saying the circumstances surrounding the charges were "especially serious".
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