Senior Tibetan official under corruption investigation

A top legislator in the Tibet autonomous region has been held by anti-graft fighters for alleged corruption becoming the first senior official in the region to be investigated since the nationwide crackdown against corruption began in late 2012.

Le Dake, deputy director of the People's Congress in the region, is being investigated for alleged "serious violation of discipline and law", the Central Commission for Disciplinary Inspection, the country's top anti-graft watchdog, said on Friday.

Le, a native of Jiangxi province, spent most of his career in political and legal affairs departments in the province between 1976 and 2004 before being appointed chief of the national security bureau in Tibet.

He became deputy director of the People's Congress in the region in January 2013 when he was 53.

A plenary meeting was held in the region on Friday presided over by the region's Party chief Chen Quanguo.

According to a statement, senior officials at the meeting expressed their support for the decision, taken by the anti-graft watchdog, concerning Le.

They agreed that Tibet is not immune from investigation and expressed willingness to exercise zero tolerance toward misbehavior by Party officials.