Top discipline body probes Beijing graft case

Speculation about the corruption probe of Beijing official Zhou Liangluo took a new turn yesterday after a mainland newspaper reported that the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection was involved in the investigation.

China Business News quoted anonymous sources as saying that Mr Zhou, head of the Haidian district government, was taken away by commission investigators on April 6 and was being investigated on land-related corruption charges.

One source said the involvement of the commission, the party's highest level disciplinary body that usually investigates top officials, was unusual because an official of Mr Zhou's rank would normally be investigated by municipal disciplinary authorities.

The Haidian government office said it was not aware of any investigation and the commission was not available for comment yesterday.

The investigation of Mr Zhou, 49, was first reported by overseas website Duowei and later picked up by the Beijing-backed Wen Wei Po newspaper in Hong Kong.

If the reports are confirmed, he would be the second senior Beijing official to be detained in a nationwide crackdown on high-level corruption following the sacking of the city's vice-mayor, Liu Zhihua .