Under Feng Jun, government contracts for electric power were awarded to companies who bribed the official. (Photo : Flickr/Chiu Ho-yang)
Feng Jun, the former general manager of State Grid Shanghai Electric Power Co., admitted in court on Thursday that he took more than 26.4 million yuan ($4.1 million) in bribes from companies that requested his help to obtain contracts and other favors from the state power company, according to a report from Shanghai Daily.
Late in Oct. 2014, Feng was put under investigation, removing him from his position. He was tried along with his wife at the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court.
The couple also faced a charge for failing to account for belongings worth around 76 million yuan.
The court did not name the specific companies involved in the case.
Feng is facing charges for abusing his positions as general manager of State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Co. and general manager of State Grid Shanghai Electric Power Co., favoring bids for state contracts that were submitted by firms that bought houses and a car from Feng at prices higher than market value.
There are also allegations that Feng accepted gifts, like expensive watches and a car.
Feng admitted to taking bribes, although he said that the figures presented in court were inflated as current prices of his property instead of the prices when they were acquired.
Chan Jiali, his wife, also pleaded guilty to taking bribes. Feng claims that she was unaware of where the money came from until recently.
"At the very end, when she noticed that I was taking bribes, she tried to persuade me not to do so several times," said Feng.
