1st LD-Writethru: Ma Xingrui expelled from CPC, public office

BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhua) -- A former senior Chinese official Ma Xingrui has been expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) and dismissed from public office for serious violations of Party discipline and laws, an official statement said on Tuesday.

Ma was investigated by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC and the National Commission of Supervision. A report of the investigation was reviewed and approved by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee at a meeting on June 30.

The investigation found that Ma had violated political, organizational and integrity discipline, helped family members purchase homes at below-market prices, engaged in power-for-sex and money-for-sex transactions, and allowed family members to exploit the influence of his position to seek huge benefits, the statement said.

Ma was found to have sought benefits for others in business operations, project contracting and job promotion, and illegally accepted huge amounts of money and valuables personally or in collusion with relatives or other close associates, according to the statement.

Authorities said Ma's conduct seriously violated Party discipline, constituted serious duty-related violations and was suspected of the crime of bribery, describing the case as particularly serious with an extremely negative impact.

In line with Party regulations and laws, a decision was made to expel Ma from the Party, remove him from public office and confiscate his illicit gains. He was also stripped of his qualifications as a delegate to the 20th CPC National Congress. His suspected criminal case has been transferred to prosecutors for examination and prosecution in accordance with the law, the statement said.

The decision to expel Ma from the Party awaits confirmation at a future plenary session of the CPC Central Committee. Enditem