China court president stands on trial for bribery

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-10-27 07:10

HEFEI -- A former senior judge in East China's Anhui Province has gone on trial for taking bribes of more than 1.3 million yuan (US$162,000).

Zhang Zimin, former senior judge and president of the Fuyang Intermediate People's Court, is accused of taking bribes for arranging jobs, promotions, and intervening in trials, according to the Liuan Intermediate People's Court.

The court did not yet reach a verdict following Wednesday's trail.

Numerous other judges, including several under Zhang's supervision were also involved in similar charges.

Shang Jun was charged with taking bribes of 906,500 yuan (US$114,000) between 1992 and 2005, the Anqing Intermediate People's Court heard.

Shang was also accused of accepting property worth 980,000 yuan (US$124,000) from an unidentified sources, according to the court.

Shang took the bribes when she was the senior court judge and president of a intermediate people's court. She later took posts including deputy secretary the Fuyang City Committee of the Communist Party of China and deputy director of Anhui Provincial Health Bureau.

Former judge and court president Liu Jiayi was charged with taking bribes of nearly 1 million yuan (US$126,000) while another former judge and vice president of the court, Wang Jianmin, was accused of taking bribes totaling over 1.3 million yuan (US$164,000).