Former senior political advisor of Liaoning province indicted for bribery

BEIJING -- Liu Guoqiang, former vice chairman of the Liaoning Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, has been indicted on a charge of taking bribes, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said Friday.

Liu was accused of taking advantage of his various former positions to seek profits for others in business operation, project cooperation, and job promotion, among other matters, and accepting vast sums of money and gifts in return, the SPP said in a statement.

Liu's case was handed over to the first branch of the Tianjin Municipal People's Procuratorate for review and prosecution upon the designation of the SPP after the National Supervisory Commission concluded the investigation, it said.

Liu will stand trial in the First Intermediate People's Court of Tianjin, it added.

The SPP said the prosecutors had informed the defendant of his litigation rights, interrogated him and heard the defense counsel's opinions.