China's former military chief confesses to graft

BEIJING: China's former military chief Gen Guo Boxiong, who has been charged with taking USD 2.3 million worth of bribes, has confessed accepting the inducements, military prosecutors said today.

Guo, 74, was for a decade one of the two vice chairmen of Central Military Commission (CMC), the highest commanding authority of 2.3-million strong People's Liberation Army, and second only to the Chinese president in the top body.

He retired in 2012 and was expelled from the ruling Communist Party last year.

He is the second highest ranking military official to face trial.

Earlier, Gen Xu Caihou, the former Vice Chairman of CMC, was stripped of all ranks and faced trial. But he died of cancer last year.

A statement from the military procuratorate said prosecutors have finished the investigation into Guo's alleged graft case and started the procedure to prosecute him, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Guo was found to have taken the advantage of his position to assist the promotion and relocation of other people, accepting an extremely huge amount of bribe personally and through his family, the statement said.

He has been charged with taking bribes to the tune of 80 million yuan (about USD 2.3 million), the South China Morning Post reported yesterday.

Guo "confessed to his suspected crime of bribery", Xinhua quoted an official of the military procuratorate as saying.

He read and signed each interrogation transcript, the official said, adding his legal rights had been "earnestly guaranteed".

Guo had earlier been put under corruption investigation and was in July expelled from the CPC.

More than 40 top Generals are facing anti-corruption probes in the unprecedented anti-graft campaign launched by President Xi Jinping, who headed the CMC.

Thousands of officials including high ranking leaders were indicted in Xi's anti-corruption campaign which also drew criticism that it enabled him to consolidate his hold on the power.