Party chief dined for free before stampede
Zhou Wei, the Huangpu district party chief who is to be sacked over Shanghai's New Year's Eve stampede, was also found using public funds to pay for an expensive meal minutes before the deadly tragedy.
Zhou Wei, the Huangpu district party chief who is to be sacked over Shanghai's New Year's Eve stampede, was also found using public funds to pay for an expensive meal minutes before the deadly tragedy, the city's anti-graft agency said yesterday.
The agency said Zhou and five other officials violated the party's rules on extravagant and wasteful spending. They consumed food and drinks that cost 2,700 yuan (about HK$3,410) and left without paying, it said.
All the party officials had received warnings, the announcement said. Two, including Zhou, were stripped of their party posts. Another official was demoted.
The stampede took place as huge crowds assembled near to the Bund, on Shanghai's waterfront to watch a light show.
Shanghai authorities also confirmed reports stating the Japanese restaurant was run by a firm owned by the Huangpu district State Assets Administration Committee, which meant officials could dine without paying.
Since 2012, President Xi Jinping has led a series of anti-corruption inquiries and specifically addressed the "eight rules" on official behaviour, which call for greater austerity.
