Monday, November 27, 2006

A former township chief in south China has been sentenced to 20 years in
jail after gambling away more than 110 million U.S. dollars of public funds
in Macao and Hong Kong. Li Weimin, 43, former head of Tangxia Township in
Dongguan City, a major manufacturing center in south China's Guangdong
Province, was convicted of embezzling more than 110 million yuan (13.9
million U.S. dollars) from public coffers, Dongguan Intermediate People's
Court heard.
Li lost more than 90 million yuan (11.4 million U.S. dollars) during 257
gambling trips to Macao and Hong Kong from 2000 to 2004. Li, who was
arrested in 2005, said he became addicted to gambling after business trips
to Macao in 1996. He admitted diverting public money from several collective
firms where he worked as manager. About half of the public funds had not
been repaid, the court heard. He was also convicted of receiving bribes
valued at 1.71 million yuan (216,000 U.S. dollars). The prison term was
handed down for embezzlement and corruption. Li's personal property was also
confiscated. Tangxia is one of China's richest towns in terms of gross
domestic product in 2005. Cases of government officials who gamble with
public funds have given rise to public concerns and complaints. The
government has conducted a nationwide crackdown since 2004 to punish civil
servants who squander public funds in gambling trips abroad.