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Josephine Ma

This week's municipal congress would not include a motion to sack Vice-Chairman Wang Ju, who is embroiled in a corruption scandal, a Shenzhen official said yesterday.

Wang had been under shuang-gui  - meaning he had to report to graft investigators at specific times and locations - since July 6, Shenzhen Executive Vice-Mayor Li Decheng said in the SAR yesterday.

Mr Li confirmed that three to four cadres were implicated in the graft case so far, including the city's Land Bureau deputy chief, Pang Zehong, and Planning Department director Cai Jianhui.

It was the first public confirmation by a Shenzhen leader of the detention of Wang and associates.

Mr Li dismissed reports that Wang, a former vice-mayor, had been formally arrested, or that the case would soon be passed to the procuratorate.

'The case is now being handled by the Central Commission of Disciplinary Investigation [CCDI] and the provincial branch of the commission,' he said.

'Wang Ju has been put under shuang-gui  since July 6. And as you can imagine, investigations of cadres of that level will take some time.'

He said that removing Wang officially from his post in the city's law-making body, a necessary step before he can be taken to court, was not included in the agenda of the congress.

'As far as I know, there is no such motion on the agenda . . . Therefore I think the investigation will take some time,' he said.

Refusing to give details of the value of the bribes involved in the case, Mr Li said it was unlikely to be as much as two billion yuan (HK$1.8 billion), as some SAR newspapers have speculated.

Both Mr Li and the Shenzhen deputy party boss, Li Tongshu, have declined to comment on reports that former Shenzhen party secretary Li Youwei had been interrogated by the CCDI for alleged involvement in Wang's case.

Wang, 58, is alleged to have received kickbacks in land deals and to have illegally extended state bank loans while he was a vice-mayor in charge of city construction and town planning in the special economic zone.

If taken to court, the case would raise many concerns, as several senior officials were reportedly involved.



Shenzhen bribery probe detailed