Civil servants made up 50 percent of a total of 4,212 people who
were prosecuted in China between January and October for taking
commercial bribes, according to the Supreme People's Procuratorate
(SPP).
"During the first ten months of this year 2,164 civil servants
have been involved in commercial bribery cases," the SPP said.
From the start of the year China has attempted to clamp down on
commercial bribery and cracked a series of high-profile cases. The
former director of the Medical Apparatus Department under China's
State Food and Drug Administration, Hao Heping, was sentenced to 15
years in prison on November 28 for taking bribes and illegal
possession of firearms.
The Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court also sentenced
Hao's wife, Fu Yuqing, to five years in prison for taking
bribes.
The court found that Hao, 58, accepted 800,000 yuan (US$100,000)
in bribes from four companies between 2002 and 2004 when he was
director of the Medical Apparatus Department.
And in March 2004 a company gave Hao and Fu 200,000 yuan after
the couple complained of not having enough money to renovate one of
their apartments. Hao was also found to be in possession of five
illegal air guns.?
Another notorious case involved Zheng Shide, vice director of
Xuzhou Medical College, who took advantage of his post between
2000-2005 to seek illicit gain for others after receiving more than
500,000 yuan in bribes. Zheng was jailed for 11 years.
(Xinhua News Agency December 15, 2006)