Wukan village chief accused of toxic track graft
Authorities say party secretary took 80,000 yuan in kickbacks as protests calling for his release extend into sixth day
Authorities in the eastern Guangdong city of Shanwei say the Communist Party secretary of Wukan village, Lin Zuluan, received 80,000 yuan (HK$93,700) in kickbacks from the construction of a school running track.
However, villagers are continuing to protest, demanding the release of the village chief, who had been at the centre of protests over land seizures.
State broadcaster China Central Television reported that the authorities had confirmed on Friday an internet posting accusing 70-year-old Lin, also known as Lin Zulian, of receiving 80,000 yuan from a 420,000 yuan synthetic running track project at the village’s school. Shanwei city government press office director Shi Shuoyan said the investigation had confirmed accusations in the internet posting and Lin had also confessed.
To ensure pupils’ health, the city’s education authority had ordered the school to stop using the synthetic running track and samples had been sent to a state-appointed laboratory for testing, CCTV reported, adding that the parties involved should be dealt with severely if the track was confirmed to be toxic.
The local government released a video of Lin in detention early this week in which he confessed to taking “huge kickbacks in contracting and procurement projects”, without specifying the nature of the projects.
