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Witnesses in official’s bribery case arrested after retraction By Zhao Yusha Source

Latest: Corruption and Money Laundering.

Witnesses in official’s bribery case arrested after retraction

By Zhao Yusha Source:Global Times Published: 2016/8/15 0:13:40



Five witnesses in the bribery trial of a county Party leader in Luzhou, Southwest China's Sichuan Province have been arrested after retracting their testimony and claiming the leader was framed, several insiders confirmed Sunday.

Li Mei, the sister of Li Bo - the former secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) committee in Hejiang county, who stands accused of bribery - was detained by Luzhou police on Tuesday for impeding testimony and has not been allowed to see her family or her lawyer since then, Li Mei's husband Jiang Xingli told the Global Times on Sunday.

Former Hejiang county Party secretary Li Bo has denied accusations that he took bribes of 43.83 million yuan ($6.6 million) and said at trial that he was framed because he offended a businessman who has ties with a Luzhou official, news site caixin.cn reported.

The Intermediate People's Court in Luzhou held three separate hearings - on April 20, July 14 and July 29 - in the case, which involves the highest amount of embezzled funds seen in the area in recent years, the Chongqing Morning Post reported.

All five witnesses withdrew their previous testimony against Li Bo in trials in July, and three allegedly said their testimony was given under torture by the authorities, the Chongqing Morning Post reported.

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