(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-11-26 11:43

BEIJING - A Chinese drug association official will stand trial in Beijing for allegedly taking bribes totaling 100,000 yuan (US$13,333), the Beijing Times reported on Monday.

Last week, the public procurators office filed a document with the Xicheng District Court against Liu Yongjiu. It charged the former deputy secretary general of the China Pharmaceutical Association, a non-profit organization for pharmacists, had taken bribes from an advertising company and a pharmaceutical manufacturer, according to the newspaper.

Liu, who is in his forties, had been under investigation since last November. It was unknown when his trial would begin.

He is the latest among a host of officials who have been punished or are under investigation for their alleged wrong-doings in the drug sector.

The most high profile was Zheng Xiaoyu, the former director of the State Food and Drug Administration. The 63-year-old was executed in July for taking 6.49 million yuan (US$850,000) in bribes and dereliction of duty. He was also previously the president of the executive council of the China Pharmaceutical Association.

Others punished included Cao Wenzhuang, the former drug registration division chief of the State Food and Drug Administration, who received a death sentence with a two year reprieve in August.

Lu Aiying, an assistant supervisor with Cao's division, was sentenced to 14 years in jail, while Wang Guorong, the former deputy secretary general of China Pharmacopoeia Committee, received life imprisonment.