Robbers steal 1m from official mired in scandal

An official robbed of 1 million yuan ($162,888) in cash by a convicted gang of robbers is now in the hot seat after he had police change their testimony to draw attention away from his ill-gotten assets, media revealed on Monday.

The four member gang was arrested in Zhengyang county, Henan province after pulling off a string of robberies targeting the homes of leadership across several counties between 2011 and 2012, making off with a reported 300 million yuan in cash and stolen goods.

Zhao Xinghua, Party secretary of Zhenyang county, admitted to ordering local police to fabricate a confession from the gang for stealing only 6,000 yuan.

Zhao's case has been handed to the local procuratorate and the Zhumadian intermediate people's court.

Locally known for his extravagant lifestyle, Zhao had been under investigation for corruption since August 2013.

Two police officers colluded with Zhao to persuade the thieves to accept the fixed testimony in exchange for a more lenient sentence.

The officers have been placed in criminal detention.