'Uncle House' case enters new stage

The case of Cai Bin, known as "Uncle House", which sparked deep concern among residents in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong province, has entered a new stage, a senior official from Guangzhou's Panyu district said on Tuesday.

"Cai has been transferred to the procuratorial organ for further investigations and prosecution," Lou Xukui, the Panyu district head, told media on Tuesday.

Investigations done in early October by netizens revealed that Cai had a total of 22 houses.

Cai, 56, is a former commissar of the Panyu District Branch of the Guangzhou Urban Management Law Enforcement Bureau.

Investigations from the local Party commission for discipline inspection showed that Cai is suspected of receiving huge bribes when he served as deputy chief of Panyu district's public security bureau and commissar of the Panyu District Branch of the Guangzhou Urban Management Law Enforcement Bureau.

"Investigations found that Cai's lifestyle far outpaced his salary," Lou said.

As a county-level official, Cai's monthly pay was about 10,000 yuan ($1,594), while his wife, Shi Liying, earned less than Cai.

Shi was director of the general office and secretary-general of the Panyu district association of industry and commerce before she retired. Cai's son, Cai Zhanpei, who has Australian citizenship, lives in Guangzhou and runs an advertisement company.

Cai's properties are in Panyu and Nansha districts and include factory buildings, villas, commercial apartments, business complexes and parking lots.

Among the houses with a combined floor space of more than 7,200 square meters are a 240-sq-m multistory house and a 3,405-sq-m factory building.

A local real estate agency estimated that the total market value of the properties Cai and his family members own could reach more than 40 million yuan.