After being investigated for his involvement in the misuse of around 400 million yuan (US$51.6 million) a former Nankai University official has fled the country. This figure includes embezzlement of 110 million yuan (US$14.2 million) from Nankai, one of China's top universities, China Business News reported yesterday.

 

Yang Yulin, president of a company affiliated to Nankai University in Tianjin Municipality, had been expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) for financial misconduct. A former teacher in the Foreign Languages Department Yang became president of the university's Yungong Group in 1997.

 

Yang was reportedly responsible for a loss of 300 million yuan (US$38.7 million), most of which he misused on irrelevant companies and individuals. Yang also falsified account certificates when managing the company, the report said.

 

Judicial authorities have been taking part in the investigation, said a university official. Yang's misconduct was discovered during the relocation of the company's chemical plant.

 

Recognizing the shortage of student apartments and the severity of pollution coming from the plant, the university planned to spend 50 million yuan (US$6.4 million) to relocate the business and build student apartments on the site.

 

Hou Zixin, then president of the university and chairman of the company, gave Yang another 25 million yuan (US$3.2 million) to solve the problem.

 

However, Yang simply pulled down the old plant. Most of the workers didn't receive compensation and construction of a new plant didn't start. Employees reported the situation to the Ministry of Education in 2005.

 

The ministry and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC jointly launched a probe and removed Yang from his post on December 29, 2005. Yang fled the country in March 2006.  

 

The university established the Yungong Group in 1997 with a registered capital of 80 million yuan (US$10.3 million) to assist in solving financial difficulties.  

 

Yang's case is the second school fund scandal to hit Tianjin. Shan Ping, former president of neighboring Tianjin University, was expelled from the National People's Congress (NPC) last November for financial misconduct.

 

(Shanghai Daily February 6, 2007)