Ex-Yunnan official expresses remorse in corruption trial

A former senior official in Yunnan province stood trial on Thursday for allegedly accepting bribes worth over 24.3 million yuan ($3.7 million).

Qiu He, 59, former deputy secretary of the Yunnan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, was accused of taking advantage of his official posts from 2008 to 2015 to seek benefits for others on construction projects, getting bank loans and job promotions.

The open trial was held in the Guiyang Intermediate People's Court in Guizhou province and attended by 60 members of the public including media, legislators and political advisers.

Qiu pleaded no contest to all the charges, according to a statement from the court.

He was quoted by the statement saying, "I feel sincerely remorseful for the crime I committed and I am willing to accept the punishments."

Qiu's case was tried in a court outside the jurisdiction of Yunnan province, which is customary in major corruption trials.

Ren Jianming, a professor of government administration at Tsinghua University, said officials in a province or a region are connected with intricate interests.

"When trials are carried out outside the administration of suspected corrupt officials it helps to root out nepotism in the region, which greatly benefits the continued anti-graft campaign."

The court adjourned on Thursday and will announce a verdict later.

Yunnan, a province with abundant minerals and rich tourist resources, has been plagued with corruption in recent years.

In June, Bai Enpei, a former senior official in China's top legislature, and the former top official in Yunnan province, confessed to corruption charges during a court trial.

Bai, deputy head of the Environment and Resources Protection Committee of the National People's Congress, pleaded no contest to charges of making illegal gains of nearly 250 million yuan and the accusation that his family members' expenditures were far greater than their income, according to the Anyang Intermediate People's Court in Henan province, where a public hearing was held.

According to the prosecution, Bai used his positions to benefit 17 companies and individuals in engineering construction, real estate development, mining franchises and job promotions.