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Wen Qiang to hear verdict in gang crackdown

Xinhua, April 14, 2010

• A former high-ranking judicial official will be sentenced Wednesday afternoon in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

  The Chongqing No. 5 Intermediate People's Court will deliver its verdict on Wen Qiang, former director of the Chongqing Municipal Judicial Bureau, after rehearing his case Wednesday morning, according to a statement from the court.

  The court identified a painting owned by Wen, which prosecutors thought to have been created by Zhang Daqian, a prominent Chinese artist in the Qing Dynasty, as counterfeit Wednesday morning.

  The indictment accused Wen of taking a genuine Zhang Daqian masterpiece worth 3.64 million yuan (533,260 U.S.dollars) as a bribe.

  It said Wen took bribes, including the painting, worth more than 16 million yuan personally or through his wife, Zhou Xiaoya, from 1996 to 2009.

  Wen, 55, was charged with protecting mafia-style gangs, taking bribes, rape, and owning huge amount of money and assets he could not justify.

  Wen, who stood trial at the court from Feb. 2 to Feb. 7, was among many high-ranking local officials prosecuted during a massive crackdown on organized crime launched in Chongqing in June last year.

  Wen's wife Zhou Xiaoya and three senior Chongqing police officers - Huang Daiqiang, Zhao Liming and Chen Tao - will also receive their verdicts at the same court Wednesday afternoon.

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