Deputy head of NDRC probed

Liu Tienan, a senior official at China's top economic planner, is under investigation for suspected "grave discipline violations", as new leaders vow to tackle corruption.

The 59-year-old deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission was under investigation by the Party's disciplinary commission, the Ministry of Supervision revealed on its website on Sunday.

No further details about the investigation were available.

His post remained unchanged on the NDRC website as of Sunday evening, although information about his official activities had not been updated since Nov 1.

The spokesman for the NDRC was unavailable for comment.

Liu was head of the National Energy Administration from December 2010 to March this year, when he was succeeded by Wu Xinxiong, former chairman of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission, after the annual session of the National People's Congress.

In an online post on Dec 6, Luo Changping, deputy editor-in-chief of Caijing magazine, accused Liu of multiple offenses.

According to a report by the magazine, Liu's wife, Guo Jinghua, and his son, Liu Decheng, are shareholders in CGR Investments Inc, a company owned by Ni Ritao, a businessman who bought and merged many State-owned paper manufacturing companies.

His son received large amounts of money from Ni many times through different banks accounts, and as a reward, Liu Tienan helped Ni get loans from domestic banks, Luo later wrote on his micro blog.

Although Luo presented no firm evidence to back up his allegations, he called on anti-corruption authorities to probe the official. His post was forwarded more than 32,000 times and received almost 10,000 comments.

The National Energy Administration responded on Dec 6 saying that the accusations are "groundless".

On Jan 30, Luo said on his micro blog that anti-corruption authorities have already started investigating Liu Tienan, but that was not verified by the government agencies.

Luo said on Monday on his micro blog that he will publicize the process of the whistle-blowing activities. He did not reply to China Daily's interview request on Sunday.

It is not the first time officials at ministerial level have been investigated since the Party's new leadership took power. Li Chuncheng, former deputy Party chief of Sichuan province, was dismissed from his post and investigated for grave discipline violation, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said on Dec 13.