Shenzhen official being probed for assets worth two billion yuan
Deputy head of Shenzhen settlement suspended amid allegations he owns 80 properties and 20 cars that are beyond the reach of his salary
A village deputy head has been suspended from his office and is being investigated for allegedly owning more than 80 properties and 20 cars, valued at over 2 billion yuan (HK$2.47 billion), a district-level government spokesman in Shenzhen said yesterday.
The investigation began after an open letter was posted in several mainland chat rooms accusing Zhou Weisi, a senior official in Nanlian village, located in the outskirts of Shenzhen's Longgang district, of corruption and of owning a vast amount of personal assets that don't match his income.
The allegations, first appearing on Sunday morning, come amid widespread incidents in recent months of exposed corruption among grass-roots cadres.
Zhou's aides declined to be interviewed. Official Guangdong media reported that some of the named properties were owned by Zhou, but at least two others were owned by someone else.
Land has become a major source of wealth for local cadres in the affluent southern province, as it is highly sought after by property developers and factories. Last month, a political commissar with the urban management bureau of Guangzhou's Panyu district was placed under investigation after internet users found that he owned 22 properties valued at more than 35.5 million yuan.
Meanwhile, a party boss in Zhongtang village, Dongguan, has been placed under investigation after angry internet users revealed that he owned a luxurious villa in a 7,000-square-metre compound.
Zhuang Deshui, an anti-corruption researcher with the Institute of Political Development and Governance at Peking University, said corruption is common among grass-roots party bosses, due to the concentration of power in those areas.