ZHANG Baisen, born in 1931,
is a former Manager of the Foshan Branch of the China
Construction Bank (CCB). On 18th September 2001, he
was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Foshan Municipal
Intermediate People's Court, deprived of his political
rights for life and had all his illgotten gains confiscated.
At his trial, the 70-year-old ZHANG Baisen hung his
grey-haired head dejectedly, probably envisaging the
gloomy evening of his life. ZHANG Baisen became CCB
Foshan Branch Manager in 1987 and retired in December
1992.
In late 1991, a Hong Kong
company was contemplating speculation in land sales
at Daya Bay, Huizhou Municipal with funding from CCB
Foshan Branch. ZHANG proposed that 5% of the resulting
profits should be deducted for his children. In 1993,
when the project was completed, a total profit of over
53 million yuan was returned and in April 1994 1.8 million
yuan was credited to ZHANG's children's bank accounts.
In 1997, the Commission for Discipline Inspection of
the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
(the Commission) started to investigate cases of abuse
of power by leaders of Guangdong Province whose children
had benefited by the speculation in land sales at Daya
Bay. On hearing the news, ZHANG Baisen quickly prepared
his escape and contacted his daughter in South Africa
who obtained for him a South African passport. On the
day he was told by the Commission to assist the investigation,
he fled to South Africa via Guangzhou and Hong Kong.
After ZHANG Baisen's hurried
departure the Foshan Municipality Procuratorate took
over the investigation and the CCB Foshan Branch corruption
conspiracy was thoroughly investigated. At the beginning
of 1998, Foshan Municipality Procuratorate interviewed
ZHANG's children and through Interpol arranged for ZHANG
Baisen to be arrested and extradited.
SHU Wuxiang
Director
Research Office
People's Procuratorate of Foshan Municipal, Guangdong
Province
