Kunming's party chief becomes province's third official to be snared in graft crackdown
Gao Jinsong is believed to have given millions of yuan in bribes to disgraced former Yunnan party chief Bai Enpei, source says
The Communist Party chief of Kunming has become Yunnan province's latest official to be investigated for corruption.
Gao Jinsong is Kunming's third consecutive party boss to be probed for graft. He had been in the post for only eight months when the provincial graft watchdog announced the investigation yesterday.
Gao, 51, was suspected of having committed "serious violations of party discipline and law" - a euphemism for corruption - the Yunnan discipline inspection commission said in a brief statement on its website.
The Yunnan native took the Kunming party chief post in August after his predecessor Zhang Tianxin was sacked. The top graft-buster, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, said Zhang abused his power for personal gain and that his dereliction of duty had caused a loss in state assets.
Zhang's predecessor Qiu He , who was Kunming party boss from 2007 to 2011 and later became Yunnan's deputy party boss, came under investigation for corruption last month.
The probe into Qiu, known for his hardline style and penchant for grandiose projects, is thought to be linked to Kunming's costly urban reconstruction projects.
Mainland media outlet Caixin said Gao was implicated in the corruption case of disgraced former Yunnan party chief Bai Enpei , who came under investigation in August. Gao allegedly gave Bai several million yuan in bribes, Caixin said.
"Bai and his wife confessed … regarding the bribes they took, which implicated many incumbent officials," Caixin cited a Yunnan official as saying.
Bai had been Yunnan party boss for 10 years before he left for a Beijing post in 2011. He was vice-chairman of the national legislature's environment and resource protection panel until he was detained.
Bai was implicated in the case of Sichuan mining tycoon Liu Han , who was linked to disgraced former security tsar Zhou Yongkang . Liu was sentenced to death in May for leading a mafia-style gang.
Aside from being Kunming party chief, Gao was also party secretary of the Kunming garrison command. The Supreme People's Procuratorate announced on Wednesday that Wang Xiaoming, the unit's retired commander, had been detained for taking bribes.
It was not clear if Wang and Gao had served the command at the same time, as career information of China's military personnel is not publicised.
