Mr Hu said he believed Chen did own a villa in Huairou, the district on the outskirts of Beijing that hosted the Non-Governmental Organisation Forum on Women.

But Mr Hu stressed that he neither knew details of the allegations nor when central authorities would conclude the investigation into Chen's alleged crimes.

The decision on whether Chen would be punished would depend on the results of the investigation, he said.

Chen was expelled from the Politburo at the recent fifth plenum of the Communist Party's Central Committee and has been under investigation for allegedly accepting bribes and involvement in the corrupt activities of the late Beijing vice-mayor, Wang Baosen.

Wang, who killed himself last April, was accused of economic crimes, leading a dissolute life, abusing power for illegal interests and accepting bribes.

Mr Hu, who is in Hong Kong attending an international conference on China's economic reforms, showed reporters the Central Committee's communique and read from it when he was pressed for the latest developments of the Chen investigation.

'I just feel the central communique has stated it very clearly.

'Why don't you reporters study the document properly?' he asked.