3 former minister-level officials are charged

Three former minister-level officials have been charged with bribery, the Supreme People's Procuratorate said on Monday.

Xiang Junbo, 61, former chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, was charged by Changzhou Intermediate People's Court in Jiangsu province.

When the investigation was complete, the SPP transferred the case to the Changzhou people's procuratorate, which then forwarded the case to the court for prosecution.

According to the indictment, Xiang took advantage of his position to gain benefits for enterprises or individuals, then accepted huge bribes either paid in cash or property.

Xiang had served as vice-president of the People's Bank of China, Party secretary and president of Agricultural Bank of China and chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, China's top anti-graft watchdog, launched an investigation in September. In October, Xiang was expelled from the Party and dismissed from public office for corruption.

In a separate development, Yang Chongyong, former vice-chairman of the Hebei People's Congress Standing Committee, was charged with bribery by Tianjin Municipal People's Procuratorate No 2 Branch.

According to the indictment, Yang, while serving as a member of the committee and as deputy governor of Hebei province, made use of his position to benefit others in exchange for large bribes.

Yu Haiyan, former vice-governor of Gansu province, was also accused of bribery by the Chongqing Municipal People's Procuratorate No 1 Branch.

The Chongqing Procuratorate has sent the case to Chongqing Municipal No 1 Intermediate People's Court for prosecution.

Prosecutors charged that he abused power to gain benefits for others, and demanded cash or property in return.

According to a five-episode documentary released by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection in September, Yu cut up all the photos taken with the people who bribed him and flushed them down the toilet to destroy the evidence.