Chinese fugitive on trial after 13 years
1 Jun 2012 4:13 AM GMT
A Chinese fugitive went on trial for taking the all powerful ruling Communist Party for a ride with a fake name and counterfeit diplomas to become deputy chief of a party school, which focused on ideological education.
Forty nine year-old Shi Baoyue who went underground to escape from a case in which he was charged for value-added invoices and forging official seals managed to become deputy chief of a provincial school of the party. Shi's trial opened in the People's Court of the city of Jinhua, located in east China's Zhejiang province, on Monday, 13 years after he escaped the province.
‘I have been living in terror for the past 13 years and I have tried to bleach my experience by atoning for my wrongdoings,’ Shi told court. He said he sponsored 28 poor students as a way of redeeming himself, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying.
Soon after his escape Shi managed to move to Chengdu in southwest China in 1998 to hide from authorities after hearing about a possible court case being built against him.
‘I thought I should live a new life,’ Shi recalled. He purchased a fake ID card and residence booklet, rechristened himself as ‘Gao Shanqing’ and bought two false degrees, a graduation certificate from Fudan University and another as evidence of his ‘studies’ at Zhongshan University.
With his fake certificates and previous experience at a township newspaper, Shi had no difficulty finding media jobs in multiple provinces over the following 13 years.
His travels took him to the provinces of Sichuan, Guangdong, Fujian and Jiangsu.
Promotions within the media organisations led him to eventually apply for and receive a position as deputy chief of the Communist Party School in the city of Zhangjiagang, located in east China's Jiangsu province.
Shi was arrested in September last year, although police did not provide any details as to how they ascertained his true identity.
In the wake of Shi's trial, many people have expressed outrage over the incident, wondering how a criminal could rise to such a high position.
Forty nine year-old Shi Baoyue who went underground to escape from a case in which he was charged for value-added invoices and forging official seals managed to become deputy chief of a provincial school of the party. Shi's trial opened in the People's Court of the city of Jinhua, located in east China's Zhejiang province, on Monday, 13 years after he escaped the province.
‘I have been living in terror for the past 13 years and I have tried to bleach my experience by atoning for my wrongdoings,’ Shi told court. He said he sponsored 28 poor students as a way of redeeming himself, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying.
Soon after his escape Shi managed to move to Chengdu in southwest China in 1998 to hide from authorities after hearing about a possible court case being built against him.
‘I thought I should live a new life,’ Shi recalled. He purchased a fake ID card and residence booklet, rechristened himself as ‘Gao Shanqing’ and bought two false degrees, a graduation certificate from Fudan University and another as evidence of his ‘studies’ at Zhongshan University.
With his fake certificates and previous experience at a township newspaper, Shi had no difficulty finding media jobs in multiple provinces over the following 13 years.
His travels took him to the provinces of Sichuan, Guangdong, Fujian and Jiangsu.
Promotions within the media organisations led him to eventually apply for and receive a position as deputy chief of the Communist Party School in the city of Zhangjiagang, located in east China's Jiangsu province.
Shi was arrested in September last year, although police did not provide any details as to how they ascertained his true identity.
In the wake of Shi's trial, many people have expressed outrage over the incident, wondering how a criminal could rise to such a high position.
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