Former senior police officer arrested

A former senior police officer in corruption-plagued Shanxi province has been arrested on corruption charges.

Li Yali, the former deputy police chief, is suspected of misusing his powers by intervening in his son's drunken driving case, breaking austerity rules and violating organizational and personnel regulations, according to a statement from the province's procurator.

Under the Criminal Law, procurators have the authority to issue arrest warrants after police departments turn over evidence of crimes.

Li, 54, also a former police chief in the province's capital, Taiyuan, was removed from his post in January last year. He is a native of Shanxi and spent his entire career in police departments in the province.

He was alleged to have covered up his son's drunken driving and assault on a police officer in October 2012, which drew nationwide attention.

The son was stopped while driving an SUV and breaking traffic regulations, and he struck the police officer who stopped him. The assault continued until another three officers arrived and detained him. A breath test found him to be drunk, but he was taken away by a police officer of a higher rank.

Later, Li used his power and changed "drunken driving" to "driving after drinking". His son was fined 1,000 yuan ($160), and received six demerits on his driver's license. Drunken driving is punishable by up to 15 days of detention, and driving after drinking is a minor offense punishable by fines and points.

Video footage of the drunken violence spread widely on the Internet and was widely talked about.

Shanxi province has China's most productive coal mine, and its economic growth has been driven by increasing energy demand in recent years.

In the past, cases investigated by anti-graft authorities generally dealt with officials' misuse of power in connection with the distribution of coal resources and land development.

Of the 34 provincial-level administrative districts in China, Shanxi has been hit most by corruption cases. A third of the members of Shanxi's top decision-making body and more than 40 other officials in the province have been investigated for corruption since the nationwide anti-graft campaign began in late 2012.

Li was also said to have accepted bribes from a businessman and helped the man benefit from a land purchase in Jincheng.

He held the posts of deputy police chief and later police chief in that city from 2004 to 2011.

Li's two predecessors were removed from their posts for alleged corruption or covering up misconduct by family members.

zhang_yi@chinadaily.com.cn