Executive of supplier to scandal-plagued CNPC 'dies in fall'
At least three bosses at dead woman's firm have disappeared amid graft probe into oil industry
A senior executive of a major supplier to the scandal-plagued China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has died, with one mainland media report saying she fell from a building in Chengdu .
Sichuan Star Cable said in a statement that it had learnt of the death of its director and deputy general manager, He Yuying , "in recent days". The statement praised He's contribution to the company, but provided no information about the circumstances of her death.
, a financial magazine, reported that He, 44, died around 11pm on Monday after falling from a building in Chengdu's Wuhou district.
The district's police station refused to comment on the report. Star Cable also refused to give further details on her death when reached by phone.
At least three top executives of the Shanghai-listed company have disappeared since July - Li Guangyuan , its chairman; Shen Ludong , its general manager; and Yang Ping , its chief financial officer - amid widening corruption investigations into CNPC and Sichuan .
The company said in July that it was looking into media reports that Li had been detained, but it had been unable to get in touch with him.
The Communist Party's disciplinary watchdog has been expanding its investigations into Sichuan and the oil industry, which have long served as power bases for former public security tsar Zhou Yongkang .
The reported last month that party leaders agreed to launch an unprecedented corruption investigation into the retired member of the Politburo's supreme Standing Committee.
The investigation has widened to include senior executives of at least seven publicly listed companies, including Star Cable.
Li is widely believed to have been detained in connection with the specific corruption investigation involving of the former deputy governor of Sichuan, Guo Yongxiang , who was a personal secretary of Zhou's.
Li is also a delegate to the local National People's Congress.
Star Cable manufactures specialised power cables used in power plants and petrochemical facilities. It received 185 million yuan (HK$233 million) in revenue from CNPC in the first half this year, making the state-owned petrochemical giant its largest client, according to its midyear financial report.
