Former CPC chief of quake-hit city expelled

CHENGDU - The former Communist Party chief of a quake-hit city in southwest China has been expelled from the Party and dismissed from his public post, said discipline authorities on Friday.

Crackdown on Graft

An investigation showed Xu Mengjia, former secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) committee of Ya'an City, Sichuan Province, used his power to seek interests for others and accepted a huge sum in bribes with his elder brother, said Sichuan's CPC discipline inspection commission.

Xu is also accused of power abuse which led to great losses in state-owned assets and having a long sexual relationship with a married woman, according to the commission.

Clues about his suspected crimes have been forwarded to judicial authorities, it added.

Xu had been the Party boss of Ya'an from June 2006 until he was removed from the post last November.

A 7.0-magnitude quake jolted Ya'an in April last year, leaving 196 dead and thousands injured.