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Vivian Wu

Sichuan the latest province to be hit by judiciary scandal, but  politics could be behind one arrest

Two leading judges in Sichuan are in custody for alleged corruption and more are believed to be under investigation.

The detentions are the latest in a chain of scandals that have hit the judicial system, snaring a dozen judges in Shenzhen, Hunan and Anhui .

Luo Shuping , 50-year-old chief of the Sichuan High Court Executive Tribunal, a body with the task  of overseeing the implementation of court orders, was put under shuanggui, Communist Party disciplinary investigation, on November 29 for alleged graft. A Sichuan legal source said Luo was  taken into custody soon after he was put under shuanggui and 'concrete evidence' was filed against him.

But a close friend said Luo's charges related to about 150,000 yuan in bribes he allegedly took before becoming the executive tribunal chief five years ago, suggesting his  problems may be political.

'He was probably pulled off for political or personnel reasons given that the party system in China is busy with an official personnel reshuffle,' the friend said.

Wang Weiping , head of Chengdu  Intermediate People's Court Executive Tribunal, was also put under shuanggui for corruption at about the same time as Luo. The sources said they believed the two cases were closely connected. 'More  judges were taken into custody to assist the investigation too, but the details will come out later,' Luo's friend said.

Neither Sichuan High Court nor Chengdu Intermediate Court were available for comment yesterday.

Luo was a rising legal star in the  court system and competed for the job in an open  selection process. He has a master's degree in law and had worked in the Sichuan court system for almost three decades.

He has extensive experience in criminal law, once worked as the high court's spokesman and has published widely on legal issues.

Given their lack of oversight, executive tribunals offer almost unfettered opportunities for corruption. But legal analysts yesterday bemoaned the decision to remove Luo from his post.

A Beijing-based legal professor who knows Luo said he was well-respected.

'Luo Shuping enjoyed a very good reputation for his outstanding professional knowledge, quick thinking and productivity in writing academic articles and books,' the professor said.

But the professor also said the executive tribunals' ultimate power in implementing verdicts 'allowed huge room for economic misdeeds, especially when internal or external supervision is loose or even absent'.

'The space for corruption was too big,' he said.

In the mainland judicial system, the executive tribunal judges had 'very powerful rights because they are responsible for the execution of all verdicts, sentences and legal documents', the professor said.

One lawyer said that in many property dispute settlements, judges stood to make substantial commissions.

'If an executive tribunal judge helps the plaintiff to recover properties or economic losses, he can usually get 10 to 15 per cent of the money involved as commission,' the lawyer said.

Last month mainland media reported that a deputy president of the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court had been detained and four other senior judges put under shuanggui for allegedly taking or offering bribes.



More judges held in graft crackdown