Former senior official in Shanxi stands trial for alleged corruption

Ling Zhengce, former senior official of Shanxi province, stood trial on Tuesday for taking bribes.

Ling, former vice-chairman of the Shanxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was accused of taking advantage of his various posts to offer help, through other State officials, to companies and individuals, including former deputy Shanxi governor Du Shanxue, in project examination and approval, business operations and personnel promotion.

Ling accepted bribes worth more than 16 million yuan ($2.4 million), either in person or through his son, Ling-hu Shuai, according to the indictment from the people's procuratorate of Changzhou in Jiangsu province.

The procuratorate filed the charges with the Changzhou Intermediate People's Court.

During the trial, the prosecutors presented evidence, and Ling and his defense counsel responded to the evidence.

In his final statement, Ling pleaded guilty and expressed remorse.

The court ruling will be announced at a later date.

In other cases, Xi Xiaoming, former vice-president of the Supreme People's Court, and Gu Chunli, former vice-governor of Northeast China's Jilin province, have been indicted for taking bribes, the Supreme People's Procuratorate said on Tuesday.

The court designated Tianjin and Harbin procuratorates to initiate prosecution against Xi and Gu respectively.

According to the indictments, Xi and Gu took advantage of their posts to seek benefits for others and accepted a huge amount in bribes. Prosecutors have informed Xi and Gu of their litigation rights, questioned the defendants and listened to representations from their lawyers, according to a statement from the SPP.