Army college ex-official investigated in graft case

Military official suspected of taking kickbacks in construction projects

China's military prosecuting department is investigating a major general who held a senior post at an army college in its widening fight against corruption, according to a report by Caixin on Monday.

Dai Weimin, 52, former deputy dean at the PLA's Nanjing Political College, was taken away in the middle of November by military prosecutors on suspicion of accepting huge bribes, the report said.

According to Caixin, a financial news magazine, he is suspected of accepting bribes in connection with land and construction projects from 2010 to November 2014, when he was serving as the head of the Shanghai branch under the PLA's Nanjing Political College.

Dai, who has a PhD in literature from Fudan University, was serving consecutively as vice-head of the college's training department, deputy director and director of the Shanghai branch, and head of the college's training department between 2006 to 2010, when he was promoted to major general, it reported.

In 2013, he was promoted to deputy dean at the college, and also held a concurrent post as the director of the Shanghai branch. He was given the title of professor and tutored PhD students, Caixin said.

It reported that he was a renowned scholar in the field of information communication and enjoyed a special allowance issued by the State Council. He has also had articles published in major State media, such as Guangming Daily and the military's PLA Daily.

The accusations come just a few days after another major general at a PLA Army university was investigated for alleged corruption.

Last Thursday, Gao Xiaoyan, 57, former vice-political commissar and discipline inspection chief at the PLA's Information Engineering University, was placed under investigation for allegedly taking bribes involving construction projects at a military hospital from 2005 to 2012, when she worked as the political commissar at the PLA's 309 Hospital.

She is thought to be the first female general to be investigated since November 2012, when the new leadership was elected.

Weeding out corruption in the military is a top goal of President Xi Jinping, chairman of the Central Military Commission.

In November, Geng Yansheng, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, said the central government will conduct further investigations into corrupt military officials.

"There are no hiding places for corrupt military officers in the military," he said. "If we discover clues about corruption, no matter who they involve, we will make a thorough investigation into all corruption cases, without any leniency."

The priority is to "enhance the supervision and restriction of power in the military" after several senior corrupt military officials have been investigated for graft, said Cheng Lei, a law professor at Renmin University of China.