Eastern Chinese province exposes official's jobs-for-money network

HEFEI, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese prosecutors have untangled a
jobs-for-money network run by a corrupt official in Chaohu City in east Anhui
Province, which led to the dismissal of 14 officials.

Zhou Guangquan, the former Communist Party secretary of Chaohu city, was
accused of accepting bribes worth 5 million yuan (about 735,000 U.S dollars) on
June 3.

Prosecutors then discovered that among the 36 people who bribed Zhou when
he was secretary of the Communist Party of China Chaohu City Committee from 2000
to 2004, 19 were government officials.

The 19 officials were promoted after giving Zhou bribes. Zhou was also
charged with failing to account for the sources of his 3 million yuan of
property. The Anqing City Intermediate People's Court has yet to announce the
verdict.

Among the 19 officials, 14 were removed from their posts ranging from vice
mayor of Chaohu to deputy director of Chaohu city Public Security Bureau.

Dai Longshen, the sacked deputy director of the public security bureau,
told a Xinhua reporter that he sometimes gave Zhou cash out of "brother-like
respect".

However, prosecutors discovered that from 1995 to 2008, Dai gave 46,000
yuan in total to Zhou. He got two promotions with the help of Zhou in 2000 and
2002 as payback.

A network composed of entrepreneurs and officials emerged after Zhou stood
trial. The feature of the network was the exchange of money for personal gains.

Chinese disciplinary organs have punished 2,386 officials at or above
prefectural level for their misconduct from July 2003 to December 2008,
according to the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for
Discipline Inspection (CCDI).

Other 29,905 officials at county level were also punished during the same
period, the CCDI said.