Beijing courts start online judicial auction

BEIJING - A villa and two apartments, seized by two Beijing courts, will go on sale online next month, authorities said on Thursday, marking the city's first judicial auction on a commercial website.

Fengtai District People's Court posted auction information about a villa in Fengtai District on sf.taobao.com with a starting price of 20.83 million yuan (about 3.39 million U.S.dollars).

Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court posted information about two apartments in Tongzhou District with starting prices of 2.95 million yuan and 1.29 million yuan, respectively.

The online auction will begin at 10 a.m. on May 13.

Online judicial auctions have already begun in Zhejiang, Yunnan, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan, Shandong, Fujian, Xinjiang provinces.

The public has criticized Chinese courts' handling of assets seized in lawsuits, as auctions are not transparent enough and transaction prices are sometimes much lower than the real value of the items being auctioned.

"The online auction is part of our reform measures. We will listen to suggestions and feedback from the public to improve our work," said Zhai Jingmin, vice president of Beijing Higher People's Court.