Ding Ruopeng, former director of Heilongjiang Provincial Branch of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), has been prosecuted for bribe-taking allegations.

It is alleged Ding took in bribes totaling US$157,500 in three separate occasions during and after his tenure as chief of CSRC Heilongjiang Provincial Branch from 1997 to 2005, according to information from the office with the Heilongjiang Provincial Leading Group of Commercial Bribe Prevention and Control.

During his tenure as the director of CSRC Heilongjiang provincial Branch, Ding was responsible for investigating and handling misappropriation of clients' guarantee fund by Beiya Industrial (Group) Co Ltd, a local company engaged in railway freight and passenger transport and development of rail high-tech commodities.

In return for Ding's assistance in the process of investigation and the issue of new shares, chairman of Beiya Industrial, who was only identified by his surname as Liu, promised to buy an apartment in Beijing for Ding after the latter retired from his post of leadership.

Ding was dismissed by his post In September 2005 but was soon appointed as an inspector. To honor his promise, Liu, who first sought Ding's opinion, gave 1.02 million yuan (about US$127,500) to Ding's son for purchase of an apartment in a residential quarter in Beijing last March.

In the latter half of 2003, the general manager of Dongfei Tongyuan Construction and Decoration Company in Heilongjiang, identified by his surname as Yang, turned to Ding, asking Ding to help him secure a decoration project of a real estate company owned by Beiya Industrial. Ding obliged.

Yang rewarded Ding with US$10,000 in cash at the end of 2003 in return for Ding's help.

Deputy general manager of Northeast China Freeways Co., identified only by his surname as Li, sought help from Ding in April 2003 over an incident in which a subsidiary of Northeast China Freeways Co, with headquarters in Changchun, the provincial capital of Jilin Province, was dealt with for speculating in futures business.

Li asked Ding to do some coordination with authorities of relevant departments of CSRC and gave Ding US$20,000 in cash.

(Xinhua News Agency February 12, 2007)