Former Hainan judge pleads guilty to bribery

Zhang Jiahui, former Hainan High People's Court vice-president, dubbed "the richest judge in China", pleaded guilty to taking bribes during a court hearing on Wednesday in South China's Hainan province.

She was accused of taking bribes worth 43.75 million yuan ($6.17 million), according to a statement by the First Intermediate People's Court of Hainan Province.

The People's Procuratorate of Hainan also charged Zhang with the crime of bending the law to intervene in administrative trials and fraud, according to the statement.

Zhang pleaded guilty and the sentence will be pronounced later, the court said.

Since 2006, Zhang had taken advantage of her positions in the Hainan High People's Court to seek benefits for others and receive huge amounts of property, according to the statement.

From 2015 to 2016, Zhang took advantage of her position in judicial system to force others to make wrong judgments, leading to her ex-husband's company underpaying a fee of 46.21 million yuan, the statement said.

In June 2001, Zhang and her husband defrauded people of 1.43 million yuan by claiming they could help them reduce the penalty in criminal cases.