Former village Party chief admits taking bribes

Lin Zulian, former Party chief of Wukan village, has admitted taking bribes after being detained over the weekend, according to a senior public prosecutor from Shanwei city.

"I had poor awareness of the law, so I accepted commissions on the village's livelihood construction projects and took bribes for the purchase of the village's collective assets as well," Lin told officials who are investigating the case.

"This (accepting bribes) is my most serious crime, I will confess all my crimes to the procuratorial organ."

Yuan Huaiyu, chief procurator of Shanwei Intermediate People's Procuratorate, said Lin had been dismissed from his post for violation of laws and regulations, while investigations are still ongoing.

"Procuratorial organs have received reports indicating Lin accepted bribes and had other economic problems since the beginning of the year," Yuan told a news conference on Monday, without revealing how much Lin was accused of accepting.

"After more than three months of investigation, the procuratorate formally filed to investigate Lin's case further last Friday."

Lin, 72, was taken away for further investigation after dozens of police cars arrived in Wukan village on Friday night and early Saturday morning.

Police have urged villagers to actively cooperate with the investigation of Lin's case and report any illegal activities to the police and public procurators.

Lin was elected Party chief and director of Wukan administrative committee in 2012, before being re-elected as the Party and administrative head of the village in 2014.

Wukan, a coastal fishing village in the eastern part of Guangdong province, was last under the media spotlight in 2011, when more than four months of rallies were held in protest against a previous village head over corruption allegations.

The rallies finally came to an end following an agreement made after face-to-face talks between villagers and senior Guangdong provincial officials in 2012.

Yang Semao, then deputy director of Wukan village's administrative committee, was detained for allegedly accepting bribes.