Five years' jail for official
A senior communist party official in Hainan province has been jailed for five years for taking bribes.
Wei Zefang was jailed for accepting bribes totalling 60,000 yuan (HK$56,000) while serving as the secretary of the provincial political and legal committee, state media reported yesterday.
Wei was also expelled as a Standing Committee member of the Hainan Communist Party and as vice-chairman of the local People's Congress.
Wei joined the Communist Party 39 years ago and was among the first batch of cadres to join the Government when the People's Republic was founded in 1949.
A statement issued by the Central Disciplinary Inspection Commission yesterday lamented the downfall of Wei and urged cadres to ponder why even such veterans failed to say no to bribes.
Cadres like Wei who were to retire soon should stand firm and keep their integrity in their final years, it said.
It added that cadres should learn a lesson from Wei's 'tragic end' and reiterated that any corrupt officials would be dealt with severely.
