Disgraced Chinese official weeps as he tells court he took bribes of more than 13 million yuan

A disgraced Chinese official wept in court today after confessing to accepting bribes totalling more than 13 million yuan (about HK$16.4 million) over an eight-year period.

Liao Shaohua, the former Communist Party chief of Zunyi City in Guizhou province, admitted taking the bribes to help various companies between 2004 and 2012 at Xian Intermediate People’s Court. 

“I turned out this way because I couldn’t exercise self-restraint,” he told the court.

The hearing, which was reported on the court’s official weibo account, was adjourned at 1pm, and sentencing will take place at a later date.

Liao, a Sichuan native, had also admitted taking advantage of his position to seek profits for private parties and costing the government huge economic losses.

Prosecutors said Liao, 54, had intervened in arrangements for the leasing of land for real estate development between July 2008 and June 2009.