The house that Gu built: disgraced Chinese general developed luxury homes under military guise
Gu Junshan behind record-setting Beijing real estate complex that local officials dared not question
A large piece of land near west Beijing's scenic Yuyuantan Park that was ostensibly a site for military research and development was instead developed by disgraced former PLA deputy logistics chief Gu Junshan into one of the capital's most expensive luxury residential projects.
The revelation, by mainland financial news portal Caixin, comes after a military court on Monday announced that Gu, 58, had been given a suspended death sentence with a two-year reprieve for corruption and abuse of power.
Caixin reported that Gu was a key officer behind the development of the site.
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It also revealed that one of the luxurious villas there belonged to disgraced former vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission Xu Caihou, who died in March.
The 8-hectare compound now houses 11 villas and four buildings with 106 luxury flats.
But when the land was requisitioned a decade ago - causing the relocation of 1,024 households - it was done so under the guise of military research, so that local officials would not dare question the move, Caixin reported.
It cited a government document that was issued in 2005, when Gu was in charge of the PLA's infrastructure and barracks construction.
Local officials and community workers quoted by Caixin said they were aware that the procedures for land requisition had been "incomplete", but said that as they had been told it was a military research project of national importance they had not dared to ask questions.