Former NE China official expelled from Party, office

BEIJING -- Su Hongzhang, former senior official in Northeast China's Liaoning province, has been expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) and removed from public office for multiple offenses.

The CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) announced on Monday that Su, formerly a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Provincial Committee of Liaoning and head of the commission for political and legal affairs of the CPC Liaoning provincial committee, was found to have committed violations including graft and election foul play.

Upon the approval of the CPC Central Committee, the CCDI carried out an investigation of Su's case.

The probe found that Su has conducted vote buying and canvassing in elections, a serious violation of the Party's political code of conduct and relevant rules, the CCDI said in a statement.

It also found Su's attempts to resist the Party's investigation and practices of violating the Party's frugality code.

Moreover, Su has taken advantage of his positions to seek benefits for others in official selection and promotion as well as in business operations and, accepted bribes in return, the statement said.

He was also found to have involved in some illegal sexual relations and practices of intervening in judicial affairs.

The statement said that as a senior official of the CPC, Su has lost his belief and violated the Party's code of conduct in a serious manner.

The CPC Central Committee has approved to expel him from the Party and remove him from office. Su's illegal gains should be confiscated and the case should be transferred to judicial organs for suspected crime investigations.

A separate statement by the Supreme People's Procuratorate announced that it has started an investigation of Su's suspected crime of accepting bribes and has decided to put Su under "coercive measures".