Bi Yuxi, a senior official of Beijing Municipality responsible for construction of the city's fifth ringroad, was held in a graft inquiry and handed over to local authorities for criminal investigation, reported the Beijing-based China Times on Tuesday.

The 98.58-kilometer-long ringroad was built from 2001 to 2003 with a 12 billion yuan (about US$1.45 billion) loan.

Bi, former deputy director of the Beijing Communications Bureau, is suspected of taking huge bribes of amounts estimated to be about 60 million yuan (about US$7.27 million), from 1994 to 2003, the paper said.

A total of 10 million yuan (US$ US$1.2 million) in cash has been seized from Bi's house, but Bi would only confess that he just took some "tea money" when interrogated.

Bi was also the party secretary and chairman of board of the state-owned Capital Road Development Company. Some other company officials have also been held for involving in Bi's case.

The company which was established in September 1999 is responsible for the construction, financing, operation of Beijing's expressways and development of related businesses.

"The central Party disciplinary authority has received reports that Bi was suspected of taking bribes. But according to related regulations, Bi's case should be handled by Beijing's disciplinary authority," an official told the paper.

Bi was held for inquiry by the authority in April and had been handed over for prosecution and trial after being ousted from the Communist Party of China.

The paper said Bi, by taking advantage of his post, has collected bribes through striving for interests for the givers during the construction of the fifth ringroad, which is widely scolded as unnecessarily luxury.

Bi was promoted to the communications bureau as key official from the post of Daxing County governmental head in the mid-1990s.
 
(Xinhua News Agency August 11, 2004)