China extradites corruption suspect from Bulgaria

Beijing, Nov 30 (IANS) China on Friday extradited a Chinese national suspected of corruption from Bulgaria. It was the first time a former civil servant has been extradited from a European Union (EU) member state to China, reports Efe news. The suspect, Yao Yinqi, who fled the country in December 2005, is a former deputy head of Xinchang county in Zhejiang province. Yao is suspected of bribery during his tenure in office when he may have received large sums of money as well as property. Interpol issued an alert against Yao on October 3 which led to his arrest by Bulgarian police two weeks later. At its last Congress in October 2017, the Chinese Communist Party pledged to intensify the fight against corruption after having punished more than one and a half million members in the last five years.