Society

Official sacked after scenic lake filled for luxury villas

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-04-22 01:00
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KUNMING - A senior official in a southwest China tourist area has been sacked and could face prosecution after developers were allowed to fill in a scenic lake and build a luxury villa complex in a public park, corruption investigators announced Wednesday.

Huang Yonghua, former deputy chief of Dali Bai Autonomous Prefectural Government in Yunnan Province, had been expelled from the public post and the Communist Party of China, said a statement from the Discipline Inspection Commission of Dali.

The in-filling of the 2-hectare Qingren Lake, or Lover's Lake, in Dali's Erhai Park, began in 2005 after the illegally built complex began sprawling across the park, the statement said.

An initial investigation found that Huang had taken 2.23 million yuan ($328,000) from real estate and other companies, and embezzled 82,500 yuan from public funds since he took office in 2002, it said.

The investigation was started in June last year in response to tip-offs from the public, it said.

Sixteen other officials were also allegedly involved in the illegal development, and 12 of them had been referred to the prosecutors and police for further investigations, said the statement.

About 300 villas were built on the filled lake and surrounding area by a developer known as China Construction Sui Feng Property Co., Ltd., with the selling price of 2 million to 5 million yuan per villa, the China Youth Daily newspaper reported April 13.