The former director of a Guangdong provincial bureau is in court, facing corruption charges.

A public trial for Niu He'en, former director of the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Communications, was held in this provincial capital on Wednesday.

Niu, 65, was charged with taking large bribes and neglecting his duties while in office.

Since his arrest, construction funds for highways, expressways and bridges have seen sharp reductions.

Investigators believe Niu accepted bribes valued at 2.57 million yuan (US$310,800), plus HK$262,000 (US$33,700) and US$19,000.

Through the bribes, construction funds in Guangdong Province ballooned.

Road construction in the southern Chinese province that borders Hong Kong and Macao was the most expensive in the Chinese mainland.

Niu's neglect of duties cost the State more than 111 million yuan (US$13.42 million).

Niu illegally raised construction funds allocated to highway protection fences of Guangzhou-Shantou Expressway and granted the project to his son-in-law between April 1996 and November 1998 without public bidding.

His son-in-law illegally earned an extra of 38.75 million (US$4.69 million) from the project.

Meanwhile, Niu was also investigated on charges that he misappropriated public funds to visit casinos in Macao and other countries during overseas trips.

Niu was appointed deputy director of his bureau in June 1983 and became director in February 1996.

He was investigated and removed from his post last year.

Niu was once regarded as an important contributor to Guangdong's advanced expressway network.

The Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court has not ruled yet and Niu has denied all charges against him.

He is not the first high official in the province to face corruption charges.

In 2002, Li Xianglei, deputy director of the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Communications, was sentenced to jail because he accepted bribes and neglected his duties.

(China Daily July 23, 2004)