Fifth energy official sacked within six days for bribe-taking

Huang Baodong, a former senior official of a State-owned hydropower engineering and construction company, was expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) and his office for taking bribes, China's discipline watchdog announced on its website on Monday.

Huang, 44, had resigned on March 6 for "personal reasons" from his post as the vice president of the Power Construction Corporation of China (PCCC), according to an earlier notice issued by the company.

Huang is the fifth official from the monopolized power sector that authorities have announced was relieved from duty and is the target of investigation over the past six days.

"According to the investigation, by taking advantage of his position, Huang took large sums in bribes, a serious offense against the law," said the statement issued by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC.

Details of his offense and the evidence have been transferred to judicial organs, the administration noted.

The Party has already set its sights on the state-owned energy sector, including the State Grid Corp of China, PetroChina, and its parent firm, China National Petroleum Corp.

Earlier this month, the Party's anti-graft watchdog said it was conducting inspections at Power Construction Corp and state-controlled power equipment maker China XD Group.

In March, the chairman and the president of China Three Gorges Corporation, the company that operates the $59-billion project, also known as the world's biggest hydropower station, stepped down.

However, they have not been accused of any wrongdoing.

The PCCC, with 200,000 employees, is responsible for the construction of 65 percent of domestic large- and medium-sized hydropower stations.

It planned and developed 80 percent of these domestic projects, including the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River and the South-North Water Diversion project, according to its official website.

By the end of 2013, the PCCC was involved in a total of 1,021 contracting projects in 92 countries and regions.

Energy is a vital national resource, as well as a major source of funds for the country. The industry easily breeds corruption and forms a chain of interest for corruption, Li Chengyan, director of the Research Center for Government Integrity Building of Peking University, told the beijing-based Legal Mirror.

On May 21, prosecutors revealed that they put Hao Weiping, head of the National Energy Administration (NEA)'s nuclear power department, and Wei Pengyuan, vice director of the administration's coal department, under investigation on charges of bribe-taking.

On May 23, Xu Yongsheng, the NEA's deputy director, and Wang Jun, head of the organization's renewable energy department, were both put under investigation.

According to the Legal Mirror, a total of 18 officials or managers from the power administration or industry have been sacked since March this year.