Science official expelled over graft

Chen Gang, a senior official with the China Association for Science and Technology, has been dismissed from public office and expelled from the Communist Party of China for a serious violation of discipline and law, the top anti-graft watchdog announced on Thursday.

The CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in a statement that the 53-year-old former secretary of the association's secretariat was found to have abused his power to build luxurious gardens for personal use.

Chen occupied luxury hotel suites for years without paying and accepted tourism offers that could have affected the fair performance of official duties, the statement said.

The CCDI said Chen is economically greedy and that he used his power for planning and approval to enrich himself and his relatives. His extravagant lifestyle and moral degradation have seriously tarnished the image of the Party.

Chen had failed to restrain himself after the 18th National Congress of the CPC in 2012, when the central leadership stepped up its efforts to crack down on corruption, and he should be dealt with without leniency, it said.

The statement added that Chen has been expelled from Party and his office in accordance with relevant regulations and laws, stripped of illegal gains and will be handed over to prosecutors for suspected crimes.

Chen, who started his career in 1989 as a teacher at Tsinghua University, was appointed as a member of the CAST's Party Committee last year. He was placed under investigation in January.