Bribery attempt goes wrong for Chinese national

COLOMBO (News 1st) – A Chinese national has been arrested by Police on suspicion of attempting to bribe an official. The arrest was made based on a complaint lodged by an official of the Mahaweli Authority's Angunakolapelessa Regional Office. According to the Police Media Spokesperson's office, the Chinese national an employee of the China State Construction Engineering Corporation had arrived at the Regional Office to extend the gunpowder license for the 'B Section' of the Galwala Project. The Police received a telephone call claiming the Chinese national had attempted to pay a bribe of Rs. 20,000 to the Mahaweli Office Manager to get the task done. China State Construction Engineering Corporation supplies rocks for the Matara - Hambantota Expressway. The Chinese national was produced in court after being questioned by Police. The Angunakolapelessa Magistrates Court ordered the suspect to be remanded until tomorrow (July 31) and to be produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrates Court.

The Chinese Connection

In the Chinese mainland, Lu Wei, the Former Deputy Head of Publicity Department of the Communist Party, was prosecuted today (July 30) on charges of bribery. According to foreign media reports, the 58-year-old took advantage of various posts to seek benefits for others and accepted a large number of bribes. This scenario follows a recent execution of two former vice-mayors in eastern China, who were convicted of bribery. The Supreme People's Court published a statement on its website, saying Xu Maiyong and Jiang Renjie had been sentenced to death and were executed in Beijing. Xu was convicted of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power during his time as vice-mayor of the wealthy resort city of Hangzhou, west of Shanghai. Jiang was sentenced to death by the Intermediate People's Court of Nanjing city in April 2008.