This Article is From Oct 14, 2015

Fifth Ally of Former China Security Czar in Court

Fifth Ally of Former China Security Czar in Court

Li Dongsheng, The fifth ally of the country's ex-security chief went on trial for corruption. (Representational Image)

Beijing, China: A former Chinese deputy public security minister went on trial for corruption Wednesday, state media reported, the fifth ally of the country's ex-security chief to face justice in three days.

Li Dongsheng was accused of abuse of power and accepting nearly 22 million yuan ($3.47 million), the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing the Tianjin Second Intermediate People's Court.

Li is the latest victim of a much-publicised anti-graft drive under President Xi Jinping, which some have described as a political purge.

The highest-ranked politician to be brought down has been Zhou Yongkang, who accumulated vast power as China's security chief, rising to become a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, the Communist Party's most powerful body.

Li was the fifth of Zhou's allies to face court proceedings this week.

On Monday Jiang Jiemin, former head of the commission that oversees China's state-owned companies, was sentenced to 16 years in prison and Li Chuncheng, a former senior official in Sichuan province, was jailed for 12 years.

Wang Yongchun, a former top oil executive, and Guo Yongxiang, another Sichuan official, were both given 20 years on Tuesday.

Sichuan, in southwestern China, was one of Zhou's powerbases, as was China's oil industry, in which Guo worked for 26 years.

The verdict on Li will be announced at a later date, Xinhua reported.

Chinese courts are controlled by the party and have a conviction rate of 99.93 percent.

Critics say Xi's anti-corruption drive is open to factionalism and that the Communist Party has failed to introduce systemic reforms to prevent graft, such as public disclosure of assets.
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