Corruption rising at grass-roots level, expert says

Liu Zirong, a village official in Guangdong province, stood trial on Tuesday for allegedly misappropriating almost 24 million yuan ($3.5 million) of public money.

Liu, secretary of the Communist Party of China branch of Zidong village, was charged with squandering village assets on gambling and loans to his own company, said prosecutors at the hearing at the Chancheng district court of Foshan city. Most of the funds was compensation for land expropriated from villagers from 2004 to 2006, prosecutors said.

Liu was among the 78 village cadres who were investigated over allegations of abuse of power by prosecutors in Guangdong in the first quarter of 2009.