Former commerce ministry official faces prosecution for bribery in Beijing

BEIJING, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Guo Jingyi, a former official with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC), is facing prosecution for taking bribes, according to a court here Tuesday.

The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court confirmed Tuesday that it had accepted Guo's case.

Guo, 44, was promoted to deputy director-general of the Treaty and Law Department of the former Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation in 2002. He was detained by police in October 2008, when he was acting as MOC's inspector.

Prosecutors allege Guo took bribes of more than 6 million yuan (878,600 U.S. dollars) and in return helped a Beijing company get approval for setting up a foreign-funded firm. It is also alleged that Guo gained properties worth 1.65 million yuan from the same people who bribed him.

No specific date is given for the court trial.