By staff reporter Luo Changping 

Officials say three, prominent members of the Hunan Province legal community have been caught on the wrong side of the law. 

Police in the southeast province capped a roundup of suspects with the recent arrest of Huang Xiaoguang, a 38-year-old assistant judge with the National Supreme People's Court and former chief judge of the city of Chenzhou’s Intermediate Court. 

Huang was arrested on bribery and other charges while traveling to his hometown for China’s traditional May holidays. Police had earlier arrested two of his courthouse friends -- lawyer Hei Zilin and Chenzhou’s chief prosecutor Chen Yao Yun. 

Hei and Chen gave investigators the key evidence leading to the Huang’s arrest. Chen is Huang’s former boss. 

The suspects allegedly shared a 7 million yuan (US＄ 912,000) bribe in exchange for the release of a businessman who reportedly hired a contract killer to knock off a rival. Hei, who is known in Hunan by a nickname that roughly means “Sunspot Power,” was accused of arranging the deal and keeping 1 million yuan (US＄ 130,000) for himself. 

But officials say a drug case actually brought down the threesome. 

They were accused of helping eight members of a Taiwanese drug gang who were arrested for dealing methamphetamines. Officials told Caijing the gang’s leaders were either released or received light sentences. 

Huang’s arrest cast a shadow over the positive image of a man once deemed among China’s outstanding young judges. He achieved notariety after presiding over several famous criminal cases in Hunan courts. Later, he was assigned by the nation’s supreme court to conduct second reviews of death penalty cases before executions. 

Huang had also received media recognition for exposing a bribery scheme involving the families of criminals and turning over 50,000 yuan (US＄ 6,506) to police. But investigators say he secretly pocketed far more than that.