CPC expels former senior official in Hebei

BEIJING - Jing Chunhua, a former senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in North China's Hebei province, has been expelled from the Party and dismissed from public office following a graft investigation.

Jing, a member of the standing committee of the CPC provincial committee of Hebei and its secretary general, was found to have accepted monetary gifts and taken advantage of his post to seek profits for others in cadre selection and business operations, according to a statement issued by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) on Friday.

The statement said Jing had accepted huge bribes and was found to have committed adultery. According to China's law, bribery constitutes a crime.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate announced Friday to file a case against Jing and take "coercive measures" against him, which, according to the Criminal Procedure Law, include summons by force, bail, residential surveillance, detention and arrest.

Investigations are underway, according to prosecutors.

Jing continued with his violations even after President Xi Jinping kicked off China's anti-corruption campaign at the 18th CPC National Congress in late 2012, the statement said.

"The nature of the case is vile and the circumstances grave," it said, adding that the gains earned from his disciplinary violations will be confiscated, and relevant illegal money and property will be transferred to judicial departments to handle according to the law.

Jing was put under investigation for "suspected serious discipline and law violations" on March 3, the first day of the CPPCC annual session.