Update | Chinese Communist Party probes brother of top Hu Jintao aide Ling Jihua
Investigation 'might extend to Ling Jihua', who covered up son's car crash
Communist Party authorities are investigating Ling Zhengce, a brother of Ling Jihua - the key aide to former president Hu Jintao accused of covering up a Ferrari crash that killed his son.
The move underscores the widening crackdown against corrupt officials in coal-rich Shanxi province and suggests investigators could be closing in on Ling Jihua himself.
The party's top anti-graft agency yesterday announced the investigation into Ling Zhengce, a vice-chairman of Shanxi province's political advisory body, and a separate inquiry into Vice-Governor Du Shanxue. Both were suspected of serious violation of law and party rules.
Ling Zhengce, 62, is one of the three elder brothers of Ling Jihua. His phone was switched off yesterday.
Ling Jihua, once a promising rising star, suffered a serious setback to his career after his suspected involvement in covering up the March 2012 Ferrari crash in Beijing that killed his son and seriously injured two women passengers. He failed to win promotion to the Politburo later that year.
Ling was transferred to lead the party's United Front Work Department and was later made vice-chairman of the country's top political advisory body, which some analysts viewed as a political soft landing.