Former drugs boss on trial for corruption

The former chief of the mainland's food and drug regulator went on trial in Beijing yesterday, accused of taking millions of yuan in bribes and dereliction of duty.

The first hearing in the trial of Zheng Xiaoyu, who was chief of the State Food and Drug Administration from 1998 to 2005, lasted a full day at the Beijing No1 Intermediate People's Court, an official with the court's press office said.

'Zheng Xiaoyu attended the trial in person,' the official said. 'He was charged with taking bribes and dereliction of duty.'

The official said Zheng was the only defendant. Earlier reports suggested he would be prosecuted with his wife and son, who each owned businesses importing drug-related equipment and were investigated in relation to Zheng's case.

Described by the Supreme People's Procuratorate as 'the No1 commercial bribery case', Zheng's indictment was linked to a series of scandals that dealt a serious blow to domestic and international confidence in the mainland's food and drug safety, and focused national attention on the need to reform the sector.

Although the trial was deemed to be public, no media representatives were allowed into the hearing, according to Caijing magazine.

Zheng was accused of taking millions of yuan in bribes to approve the registration of medicines, accepting the money not only from pharmaceutical companies, but also from his subordinates, the report said.