Pingdu bribery unveiled

More details of alleged corruption have been revealed in the deadly arson case in East China's Pingdu with villagers claiming the property developer and village official, both arson suspects in detention, were relatives, and the village official had bought votes to get the position.

Multiple sources in the village of Dujiatuan claimed the property developer Cui Lianguo is a relative of Du Qunshan, an official with the village committee, according to the Beijing Times. The relationship has not been confirmed by Cui's immediate family members.

Cui and Du were arrested for a suspected arson on March 21, which killed a villager and injured three who tried to block construction work by the developers.

Anonymous villagers also told the Beijing Times that Du tried to bribe them to vote for him in the village committee in 2011 at 1,000 yuan ($160) or more a vote. Du spent a total 300,000 yuan, the report said.

Du won the seat five years after the land was requisitioned by the city government of Pingdu in Shandong Province.

Han Jun, deputy director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, told the Global Times that it is not uncommon for some people to bribe to get elected to the village committee as it provides access to income from land requisition, lease of land or property.

Dou Weizhi, a Pingdu official, said the city government and village committee both notified the villagers about the requisition in written form in 2006.

Many villagers claimed they did not know about the notice. Geng Fuchun, brother of the deceased arson victim, told the Global Times that most villagers, including him, didn't know the land was requisitioned until it was cordoned off last year.

Han said it is a common problem in Chinese suburban areas that the process of land requisition is not open enough to villagers.

"Farmers have a very limited right to know and participate in the process," Han said. The biggest problem reflected by the Pingdu dispute was the unfair distribution of the increased value of the land, he said.

"Farmers only got less than 10 percent of the income in Pingdu. It's a typical case of land requisition regulation," Han said. "Overall the government and property developer get the larger share."

The Pingdu government reportedly sold the land to the developer for more than 100 million yuan, but the farmers received 3 million yuan compensation for their crops.

The village committee retains more than 20 million yuan land compensation and benefits, saying that it fears doling out so much money to villagers as that might encourage them to become lazy and squander the fortune, the Beijing News reported.