By staff reporter Yang Haipeng 

（Shanghai, Oct.10）Another local government official linked to Shanghai’s booming real estate market has been ousted as part of a continuing corruption crackdown in China’s biggest city. 

The Pudong New Area People’s Congress on Monday dismissed Kang Huijun from his post as deputy director of Shanghai Pudong New Area, a relatively new section of the city undergoing rapid development since 1980s. 

A Caijing investigation found that Kang and his wife, surnamed Wang, have been charged with profiteering by the Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. They allegedly sold 24 residential properties and apartments that were purchased at below-market prices, using Kang’s government connections to pocket more than 16 million yuan. 

The couple is now expected to face trial, although no court information has been released. 

Nicknamed “the Landlord of Pudong,” the 50-year-old Kang had served as deputy director of Pudong New Area, in charge of Pudong Jinqiao New Zone, since 2004. Earlier, Kang was a top official overseeing land deals in the city’s Lujiazui area, the home of what is now Asia’s highest building, the Global Finance Center, as well as the Jinmao Tower. 

Kang’s ouster is part of the party’s fight against graft. It began in May, when the discipline commission issued new regulations offering a 30-day amnesty to party members who admitted seeking irregular benefits. An official who came forward voluntarily could receive a lighter punishment than others caught in the act. A source told Caijing that only 14 officials took advantage of the grace period by reporting to the commission. 

An ensuing roundup of government and business cronies prompted dozens of dismissals, arrests and trials in connection with the illegally tapping of Shanghai’s pension fund for real estate and highway investments. Some trials have already ended in life sentences. 

Among those now awaiting trial is Shanghai’s former mayor, Chen Liangyu. 

One legal expert said thousands of officials in Shanghai bought properties at below-market prices. “Most of them think the law lost its effectiveness when it failed to stop the majority from committing crimes, as in the case of Kang, although now they’ve received a belated warning,” the expert said.  

Kang was last seen in public September 30, when he hosted a pre-National Day fireworks show at Pudong Central Park, a local official said. 

Kang’s wife formerly worked at a state-owned enterprise and apparently got a job at an insurance company with her husband’s help. 

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