Top Chinese official booked for corruption

A top provincial Chinese official was on Friday booked in the first high profile case of corruption after Xi Jinping took over as the leader the ruling Communist Party of China, while a police chief of a city in Xinjiang is being investigated for sexual misconduct.

Li Chuncheng, 56, deputy secretary of the Sichuan provincial committee of the Communist Party of China, was brought to Beijing for investigation into charges of corruption against him, state run China Daily reported.

Li, a vice-ministerial level official, is the highest-ranking official to be placed under investigation since last month's conclusion of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Part of China (CPC), which elected Xi as new General Secretary to succeed Hu Jintao.

Xi made corruption as the main issue afflicting the party and warned that the its over six decade hold on power would be lost if graft is not contained.

Investigations against Li followed a series of recent cases where officials were investigated and dismissed for corruption.

Li was elected an alternate member of the CPC Central Committee, the highest leading body of the Party, during the congress last month.

There are 205 members and 171 alternate members of the CPC Central Committee.

In another case, police chief in Northeast China is being investigated over allegations that he gave promotions to twin sisters with whom he was sexually involved.

Qi Fang, director of public security for the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region's Usu city, is being probed by the Party anti-graft agency, the daily said.

According to Beijing News, a post on iyaxin.com, a news website and the biggest online forum in Xinjiang, alleged that Qi had given his two mistresses jobs and used funds to rent an apartment for them in an up-market community.

One of the women was appointed deputy director of the county's special police force in March, while the other joined its traffic police branch, the post said, adding that the women are 31-year-old twins and are both former actresses.

A series of sex scandals and corruption cases have been recently exposed on the Web, resulting in the sacking of several officials.