A Communist Party of China official in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, went on trial on Tuesday for killing a pedestrian in a road accident, graft and the misappropriation of public money.

Wang Mingxian, believed to be about 50, was Party Secretary of Caidian District in Wuhan from 2001 until his suspension in May last year.

He is alleged to have hit two pedestrians while driving a car in the city on November 13, 2003, killing one, and to have blamed his driver for the accident.

However, the alleged deception was revealed six months later. Further investigations led to charges that Wang was involved in graft and misuse of about 800,000 yuan (US$100,000) of public money.

The government has embarked on a vigorous crackdown on corruption. Chen Liangyu was dismissed from his post as Party chief of Shanghai on Sunday for allegedly misusing social security funds.

(Xinhua News Agency September 27, 2006)