Ex-military leader to be prosecuted on corruption charge

Guo Boxiong, a former senior military leader, will be charged with corruption, China announced on Tuesday while pressing ahead with its anti-graft campaign.

Investigations by military prosecutors found that Guo, who was vice-chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission before retiring in 2012, collected bribes for arranging promotions for others, Xinhua News Agency said.

Guo's case is being handed over for prosecution now that the investigation is completed, Xinhua said.

The military procuratorate said that the amount of bribes Guo is charged with taking was "huge", although it didn't release the amount, and it said the 74-year-old had confessed during the investigation.

A commentary on the Chinese Ministry of Defense website said on Tuesday that the military must take the necessary steps to build discipline and remove internal malaise. The practice of military law and discipline should be "merciless", it said.

Guo was expelled from the Communist Party of China in July.

Under the Chinese Criminal Procedure Law, military prosecutors will hand over the case to the country's military court. Authorities will deal with Guo's family members and others implicated in the case without tolerance, said a statement from the military procuratorate.

Guo's son, Guo Zhenggang, who was a major general, was put under investigation for corruption in February last year.

Since March last year, dozens of military officials have been exposed for allegedly violating discipline and laws, as part of the country's drive in recent years to root out corruption in the military.

Xu Caihou, another senior military official who served with Guo as vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, was probed in March 2014 for allegedly taking "massive" bribes. Xu died of bladder cancer in March last year.

President Xi Jinping has made it a key goal to weed out corruption in the military. A number of high-level corruption cases have since been exposed.

In August, after Guo was put under investigation, Defense Minister Chang Wanquan pledged intensified efforts to run the army with "strict discipline and in line with the law".

caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn