Former deputy director of Food and Drug Administration pleads guilty to bribery

Wu Zhen, former deputy director of the China Food and Drug Administration, pleaded guilty for taking bribes of more than 20 million yuan ($2.9 million) and abusing power during a trial on Thursday.

Chengdu Intermediate People's Court in Sichuan province announced an adjournment and decided to pronounce the ruling another day.

Prosecutors accused Wu of taking advantage of several positions from 1996 to 2018, including director of the Jiangxi provincial drug supervision and administration bureau and deputy head of the former China Food and Drug Administration, to assist some entities and individuals in matters of drug approval and employment.

The CFDA was merged with some other government agencies to form the current State Administration for Market Regulation in the latest round of government reform last year.

Wu illegally took gifts and properties, either directly or through relatives, worth over 21.71 million yuan, prosecutors said.

While serving as the deputy director of CFDA, Wu practiced favoritism for personal relations and abused his power, causing great losses to the interests of the country and people, according to prosecutors. "The circumstances are particularly serious and thus should be investigated for crimes of accepting bribes and abusing power," a court release said, quoting prosecutors.