THE former head of Guangdong Provincial Environmental Protection Department stood trial at the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court on June 29 over charges of taking more than 20 million yuan (US$2.94 million) in bribes, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported Tuesday.

Li Qing was accused of taking advantage of his position to take 22.54 million yuan, HK$520,000 (US$66,613) and US$90,000 in bribes during his tenure in the environmental protection department. He was promised company shares worth 10 million yuan from Zhang Weiyang, the former chairman of Dongjiang Environmental Co. Ltd.

Li was investigated under suspicion of corruption in November 2015.

According to the prosecutors, the two defendants became acquaintances in 2003. Li took advantage of his job to help Dongjiang get environmental permits for its projects and apply for government subsidies. In return, Zhang decided to give Li his shares worth 10 million yuan.

Li claimed that he had heard about the shares, but he turned down Zhang’s offer. However, the prosecutors refuted his claim, saying that it was inconsistent with his confession when he was being investigated.

During the hearing, Li pleaded guilty to multiple charges at the court hearing but raised an objection to the accusation about Zhang’s suspected bribery. The hearing of the case continues.

Li had held high positions in Guangdong Provincial Statistics Bureau since 1982, and was appointed Chaozhou’s deputy Party chief in 1998. He started his tenure as the head of the Guangdong Provincial Environmental Department in 2004. In April, Li was prosecuted by the Shenzhen People’s Procuratorate shortly before his retirement.

Founded in Shenzhen in 1999, Dongjiang has been a leading company in the country’s environmental protection industry. The company saw its IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2003.

In 2005, Forbes ranked the firm among China’s top 100 promising listed companies. Zhang, the founder of Dongjiang, was elected a member of the municipal people’s congress in Shenzhen and was once selected for the Hurun China Rich List.

It was reported in July 2016 that Zhang had resigned from the company and sold his shares to Guangsheng Asset Management Co. Ltd., a State-owned enterprise. Since then, Dongjiang has been transformed into a State-owned company.

(Zhang Yang, Lei Kaibin)