Acts of corruption slowly got 'out of hand'

Editor's note: Corruption Fight Is Always Underway, a documentary produced by the CPC Central Committee for Discipline Inspection and CCTV, continued to show the stories of former senior officials who have fallen from grace during the country's anti-graft drive. The series, which was first broadcast on Monday at 8 pm on CCTV-1, features the cases of 10 former provincial or ministerial-level officials and a former State leader. The interviews were done while the former officials were detained, but before any convictions.

"Over the years, I was appointed to increasingly higher-ranked positions and I couldn't help but compete with my peers on banquet spending. I had my head in the clouds when I held such high positions."

Wang was prosecuted on corruption charges in September. One of the highest-ranking executives in the country's petroleum sector to be charged with corruption, Wang was said to have abused his power to benefit financially, embezzling public funds and property.

He said in the documentary that, at first, he didn't view spending public funds on banquets as a serious issue, adding that it seemed to be common practice to discuss business over dinner tables and give away gas cards to guests.

Wang said the company issued strict austerity rules, but he failed to abide by them.

"I am a victim of my own making. My wrongdoings started with meals with business people. I didn't think it was a big deal to have meals with them. But what started as a little indulging ended up getting way out of hand."

Yang stood trial on corruption charges on Aug 3 for accepting bribes of more than 16 million yuan ($2.4 million). Yang was appointed head of the transportation bureau in Jiangsu province in 1998 when he was 36 years old. He was the youngest government official at or above bureau level in the province. He held positions of great importance in the province, such as top official or mayor in a few cities in the province.