A former senior regional land official went on trial on Wednesday in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Wang Yingfu, 55, former deputy director of the land and resources department of Ningxia, was accused of taking bribes since 1999 and failed to account for about 10 million yuan (US$1.28 million) of assets.

The amount of bribes that Wang took was believed to be the largest in the autonomous region since 1949.

The Intermediate People's Court of Zhongwei City started the trial at 9 a.m. and concluded it at 8 p.m. The court would deliver its ruling at a later date.

Wang hid himself after knowing that the regional procuratorate began to probe him last January, and was nabbed in Beijing 10 days later.

(Xinhua News Agency January 11, 2007)