Lan Zhou, October 13th (reporter: Chen Xia) -- Li Shanpeng, the former director of Zhonghe Town Finance Office in Gaolan County, took advantage of his position to embezzle 1.04 million yuan in cash from the office over a period of seven years. Of this amount, 980,000 yuan was used for gambling and personal extravagance. On October 13th, Li Shanpeng went on trial at Lanzhou Intermediate People's Court on charges of embezzlement. During the trial, Li Shanpeng admitted to his crimes but argued that he had turned himself in voluntarily, requesting leniency from the court. A verdict will be announced at a later date.
In November 2002, after being appointed as the director of Zhonghe Town Finance Office in Gaolan County, Li Shanpeng became increasingly addicted to gambling. After losing most of his savings, Li Shanpeng set his sights on the public funds under his control. From December 2002 to April 2009, taking advantage of his position, Li Shanpeng withdrew a total of over 1.04 million yuan in 42 separate instances from the finance office’s accountant and cashier, Bian Caiying (who is being handled separately). Of this amount, more than 60,000 yuan was used for official expenses, over 90,000 yuan was spent on purchasing a Geely car and other personal expenses, and the remaining 890,000 yuan was lost in a slot machine at an arcade near Gaolan County. In November 2009, Li Shanpeng was arrested by the procuratorate on suspicion of embezzlement.
During the trial, the prosecution argued that as a state employee, Li Shanpeng took advantage of his position to repeatedly embezzle public funds over a span of seven years. Of these funds, 980,000 yuan was used for gambling and personal extravagance. By the time of the case investigation, none of the embezzled funds could be recovered. Li Shanpeng's actions should result in criminal liability for embezzlement. Facing the charges without legal representation, Li Shanpeng admitted to his crimes in court. He stated that in order to embezzle funds from the finance office, he had given kickbacks multiple times to the office's accountant. Most of the embezzled funds were indeed spent on gambling and extravagance. Now, he regrets his actions and hopes that the court will recognize his voluntary confession and grant leniency.