Official who accused her boss of corruption pleads guilty to her own graft

A township official who allegedly threatened to expose her superior with whom she had an inappropriate relationship for engaging in corruption pleaded guilty to allegations about her own graft while standing trial in Hengfeng county, Jiangxi province, on Thursday.

Li Peixia, the former Party chief of Shangfang township in Jiangxi's Wannian county, had profited from engineering projects within her jurisdiction, using her official position to benefit others in project contracting and fund disbursement, and unlawfully accepting bribes worth more than 1.65 million yuan ($230,508) between April 2019 and February this year, the Hengfeng County People's Court said in a statement.

Li, 41, gained national attention after her father posted a video online on July 25, alleging that she had a dispute with her superior, Wannian's Party chief Mao Qi. According to the video, Li had threatened to expose Mao's corruption to the provincial discipline inspection commission. Three days after making the threat, she was detained by the county's discipline inspection commission for investigation.

Mao, 42, who was found to have used his authority to facilitate an inappropriate relationship with Li, has been expelled from the Communist Party of China and dismissed from his post, the local disciplinary authorities said on Sunday.

He was also found to have been untruthful during organizational inquiries, engaged in irregularities to benefit others in personnel matters, and corrupt practices by using his position for personal gain in project contracting and fund disbursement, including unlawfully accepting significant amounts of money.