Society

Trials reveal tale of 'boiling a frog'

By Wang Huazhong (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-02-10 07:46

CHONGQING: The continuing trials of six top police officials who allegedly protected mafia-style gangs and accepted exorbitant amounts of bribes were called examples of "boiling a frog".

When giving his final statement late Monday, Peng Changjian, former deputy director of the municipal public security bureau, became emotional and burst into tears six times.

He said: "My corruption is similar to a frog being boiled to death in warm water."

The phrase is usually used to describe the gradual onset of danger that the affected person ignores.

According to Peng, he lowered his guard after sweet overtures from gifts he accepted on traditional Chinese festivals after he was appointed to the senior post.

Peng is accused of possessing 4.6 million yuan ($680,000) from unexplainable sources and accepting 4.7 million yuan in bribes. But he is not the only Chongqing "frog" recognizing it's too late to jump out once they are cooked.

Also on Monday, the former head of the Chongqing traffic police division, Chen Honggang, was accused of accepting 3 million yuan in bribes and owning 5.8 million yuan in assets from unknown sources.

The trials of the two men closely followed that of Wen Qiang, former deputy director of Chongqing municipal public security bureau and head of the Chongqing justice bureau. Wen and his three subordinates, who served as division heads of the municipal bureau, are also facing the same charges.

Coincidently, prosecutors in the three separate cases claim that all the accused had helped subordinate police officers gain promotions, helped contractors win construction bids and offered protection to mafia-style gangs after receiving bribes.

"I hope those are not crocodile tears, and we should not be the kind-hearted farmer who saved a snake but was bitten by it, as another tale depicts," said a netizen on ifeng.com forum.

(China Daily 02/10/2010 page3)