Official on trial over pension scandal

GUANGZHOU: A former pension fund official went on trial here on Tuesday for allegedly misusing millions of yuan of public money, a local court said.

Prosecutors said Liu Yuhong, an official from Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, allowed some 750 million yuan ($100 million) from the social security fund to be invested in "risky" businesses, including real estate deals and loans, without gaining approval from his senior management.

Liu committed the malpractice between 1993 and 1996, while he was manager of the Guangzhou Social Labor and Insurance Co, a firm affiliated to the city's labor administration, prosecutors said.