Why the Zhou Yongkang graft probe is taking longer than expected

The graft investigation into former security tsar Zhou Yongkang will take longer than expected because authorities are taking a painstaking approach to gathering evidence, a senior judicial official said yesterday.

Zhang Sujun , vice-minister of justice, said the government would make an announcement once the Communist Party's anti-graft agency had completed its investigation.

"[We] will make an announcement to the public when the investigation has come to a specified stage," Zhang said in Beijing.

"I believe that once the relevant authorities have done their probe, they will definitely make the announcement to the public in an appropriate way via an appropriate channel."

Zhang said Zhou had been investigated for misconduct by the party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Its findings could be used in court.

The CCDI had been conducting its investigation "in accordance with the law and also paying attention to evidence, so this process may be a long one, but also more serious and responsible", he said.

Zhang said the government was taking a "comprehensive and systematic approach" to the investigation. Attaching such importance to gathering evidence reflected the spirit of "equality before the law", he said.