A 17-year deputy police chief, who last year became the judicial bureau head of Chongqing, is under investigation for what insiders say is a connection with local gangs.

The Chongqing Municipal Commission of Discipline Inspection announced Saturday that Wen Qiang, director of the Chongqing Municipal Judicial Bureau, is suspected of "serious disciplinary offences," but didn't elaborate, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

An official from the bureau told Caijing Magazine that Wen's case is related to his alleged harboring of local gangs.
A local policeman surnamed Shen told the Global Times yesterday that although no formal files had been issued, inside information showed that Wen was targeted for his involvement in criminal organizations.

"I heard a lot of rumors about his ties with gangs as early as 1999, when I joined the police force," the officer said.
Wen, 54, served as deputy director of the Chongqing Public Security Bureau from 1992 to 2008.


Wen Qiang
The new scandal follows the local authority's ongoing investigation of Zhang Tao, vice president of Chongqing's higher court, and Wu Xiaoqing, an official with an intermediate court, who are accused of helping gangsters manipulate the price of a piece of land in an auction. That investigation was announced July 16.

The fight against mafia-style gangs in Chongqing escalated after Wang Lijun became director of the Public Security Bureau last year, according to Shen.

Wang was once the Public Security Bureau director of Tieling, Liaoning Province, and was known as an "anti-mafia hero." He was named deputy police chief of Chongqing in June 2008 and then promoted to chief.

"Some gangs hide behind a legal business and fund their illegal activities with its earnings. (The gang members) have also entered into many industries through blackmail, extortion and usury," Wang said at a July 31 conference with entrepreneurs and bankers.

According to Wang, loan shark activities by gangs in Chongqing last year are estimated to have totaled over 30 billion yuan ($4.4 billion), equal to a third of the city's total fiscal income.

The total assets of one gang, for example, reached over 3 billion yuan, a quarter of which came from acting as a loan shark.
"The overseas accounts of the criminal gangs have been frozen," Wang said.

The authority found that some local businesses have long been hassled and blackmailed by gangs, and even some famous enterprises have fallen victim, while some others joined the gangs.

"A police insider from Chongqing has revealed that these anti-mafia activities not only strike against mafia groups that are a threat to the general public, but also involved a number of officials – including police officials who have been brought down in quick succession," the 21st Century Business Herald reported last month.

On July 21, Li Qiang, a representative of the Chongqing Municipal People's Congress and the director of the Yuqiang Group, which focuses on real estate development and transportation, was detained for adopting illegal methods in grabbing control of Chongqing's public-transportation market.

A mobile phone confiscated from Li contained text messages exhorting him to flee, the report said, adding, "It is said that at the time of his arrest, a number of insiders were among those who sent him text messages."

Chen Mingliang, chairman of the board of directors of the Chongqing Jiangzhou Industrial Company, was detained recently after an investigation into a case of unlawful possession of weapons. He had also served as a representative for the local People's Congress.
Gong Gangmo, who claimed to be a former motorbike sales legend, has been detained for alleged gang crimes in connection with the land-auction case. Authorities say he manipulated the land-auction price with court officials.

"The involvement of officials as an umbrella for gangs is not a parameter for the seriousness of crime cases. Gangs prey on officials when they (the gangsters) find certain public servants can be useful in protecting them," Li Wei, a crime expert at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times.

The number of gang crimes has been on the rise in China, Li said, noting that "buying protection" is a common practice for gangs worldwide, and China is no exception. Gang crimes, however, vary throughout the country.

Crimes in coastal regions are characterized by the maturity of their organization and approach. The mafia in East China is closely linked with its counterparts in foreign countries and is more skillful in escaping from the law and regulations by disguising unlawful operations, Li said, adding, "Their protection is more likely to be invisible."

Official figures released last month by the Committee of Political and Legislative Affairs, of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, show that police have eliminated 1,221 mafia-style gangs since a crackdown was launched in 2006. And more than 87,300 suspects have been arrested.

Qiu Wei and Zhang Han contributed to this story

Source:Global Times