Convicted lawyer in Chongqing triad case may face more charges

Controversy surrounding convicted lawyer Li Zhuang last year at the height of the Chongqing triad crackdown looks set to snowball as authorities say he may face more charges for illegal acts he allegedly committed in the course of his legal defence work.

Li is due to complete a 1 1/2-year prison sentence in June for fabricating evidence while defending Chongqing crime boss Gong Gangmo in November 2009. However, freedom appears elusive as Chongqing authorities and state media joined hands yesterday in a fresh round of criticism against Li.

Zhou Bo, spokesman for the municipal government, said on Tuesday evening that since Li's imprisonment, authorities had received complaints about the lawyer's behaviour in defending other criminal cases.

The Chongqing Jiangbei District People's Procuratorate was reviewing those cases to decide whether or not to press charges, Zhou said, without revealing specifics about the complaints.

Also, Xinhua ran a 7,000-word article stressing the fairness of the two court trials against Li and how he would do anything for money.

The report made sweeping statements such as 'using such 'unusual' measures to help clients 'get rid of trouble' has always been among Li's tricks'. The 'unusual measures' refer to his coaching of Gong to claim torture and, hence, forced confessions.