Former vice-governor guilty of taking bribes

Former vice-governor of Guizhou province Wang Xiaoguang pleaded guilty of insider trading and taking bribes amounting to more than 200 million yuan ($28.9 million) during a trial in Chongqing.

Prosecutors accused him of taking advantage of his power while holding a number of positions, including mayor of Zunyi and member of the Standing Committee of Guizhou provincial committee of the CPC, to seek private profits from 1998 to 2017.

Wang provided assistance to both departments and people on equity transfers, contracting projects, appropriation of project funds, and job promotions.

Either directly or through close relatives, Wang illegally accepted bribes of 48.7 million yuan in return.

From 2009 to 2016, Wang also illegally accessed insider information, and personally or through his relatives bought stocks in advance. The total transaction value reached 490 million yuan, with Wang illegally profiting 160 million yuan.

Wang pleaded guilty in court during Thursday's public hearing at Chongqing First Intermediate People's Court, which said it would hand down a verdict at a later date.

Born in 1961, Wang obtained a master of management degree. He was appointed vice-governor of Guizhou province in 2017.

In April, Wang was placed under investigation for serious violation of Party discipline.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in an earlier release that Wang was involved in several violations, including reading foreign books with serious political problems, violating the discipline of foreign affairs work, violating the spirit of the Party's eight-point frugality code, and taking advantage of his position to make illegal profits.

Yang Zekun contributed to this story.