Village heads plead guilty in $1.65 million corruption case

Two grassroots officials in Beijing entered guilty pleas at their corruption trial where they faced charges of taking almost 10 million yuan ($1.65 million), Beijing Times reported on Wednesday.

Beijing No 2 Intermediate People's Court heard that Guo Wen and Rong Jun, village heads in the capital's Fengtai district, were suspected of taking 9.97 million yuan from house demolition projects, on Tuesday, the report said.

The two suspects confessed during the trial and hoped the court would take this into account when delivering their sentences, according to the report.

Rong, 50, who took more than 2.6 million yuan, said in court that it was common for village heads to receive illicit payments from construction projects, the report said.

The court will deliver a verdict and sentencing later, the report added.

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