Party chief involved in counterfeit goods case

A village Party chief in South China's Guangdong province was disciplined on suspicion of renting out an office building to a person to produce counterfeit leather goods under the Louis Vuitton luxury brand, Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.

A special operation against commercial bribery in Zhanjiang city confirmed that the Party chief whose surname is Fu, and other members of the Party branch in Suixi county's Yuanfa village agreed in February to rent the second and third floors of the village committee's office building and the courtyard for two years to a man who could be only identified as Liu.

Liu then opened a plant in the building to produce and sell fake Louis Vuitton leather goods.

An investigation conducted by departments such as the local administration for industry and commerce and public security resulted in the discovery of about 5,000 finished and 700 semi-finished wallet products that bore the logos of Louis Vuitton and other brands.

According to estimates, the goods had a total value of 25 million yuan ($4 million).

Fu and other members in the Party branch were suspected of providing places and shelter where counterfeit goods could be sold and produced. An investigation into Fu began in July and he was recently subjected to disciplinary punishment.