THE father of a businesswoman jailed for life for illegal fundraising has been detained by police after the family accused a senior official in charge of organizing the seizure and sale of her illegal gains of acting corruptly.

    The government of Dongyang City in Zhejiang Province said yesterday that Wu Yongzheng, father of Wu Ying, has been detained by the municipal public security department on suspicion of defamation and concealing Wu Ying’s illegal gains.

    Wu Ying has been a high-profile figure in China since she was convicted in 2009 of cheating investors out of 380 million yuan (US$60.2 million) in private lending scams.

    She was initially sentenced to death, but the sentence was overturned and reduced to death with a two-year reprieve in May 2012. Her sentence was commuted to life imprisonment early this month for good behavior in prison.

    On Tuesday, Wu Ying’s legal representative, Lin Wencai, was detained by local police on suspicion of defaming and attempting to frame Dongyang Deputy Mayor Chen Jun.

    On July 23, Lin applied to the provincial higher people’s court and local government to block Chen from being involved in seizing and selling off Wu Ying’s assets, a process required under her conviction.

    Media reported Saturday that Wu Ying had made an official accusation that Chen had asked her for bribes.

    But on the same day, the local government said that the accusation had been investigated and proved untrue.

    Chen has already pressed charges over the matter.

    Further investigation is underway. (Xinhua)