Chinese minister Sun Lijun hid $19m bribes in lunchbox

A former minister in China has revealed that he received millions of dollars in bribes hidden in small seafood boxes.

Sun Lijun says he received boxes filled with cash four to five times a year from Wang Li-ke. Picture: Getty Images

A former minister in China has revealed that he received 19 million in bribes hidden in small seafood boxes.

Sun Lijun, deputy public security minister until 2020, said in a televised confession on Saturday that he received boxes filled with cash four to five times a year from Wang Li-ke, who was later appointed police chief in the eastern province of Jiangsu.

“Each time he gave me $300,000 dollars, placed inside a small seafood box,” Sun, 53, said. “He would say he had brought me some ‘small seafood’, and I knew what he meant.”

Wang was working in the northeastern province of Liaoning at the time, which produces crab and fish. In return, Sun said that he “provided assistance” as Wang, 57, got promoted. “I saw him as one of my own people,” Sun said.

Bribes often come in forms such as a gift box of mooncakes and teas. Picture: Jenifer Jagielski

The news caused a public outcry over the state of government corruption in China and the longstanding practice of bribing officials.

Bribes often come in forms such as gift boxes of mooncakes and teas, but can also include more valuable items such as collectibles, artworks and holidays.

When President Xi came to power in late 2012 he launched an anti-corruption campaign not only to restore public trust in the party but also to purge potential political rivals or those seen as not loyal enough to him.

To deter fellow party officials and to win public trust, the party has made fallen corrupt officials appear on television to confess.

In the first episode of Zero Tolerance on China Central Television Sun admitted that he had made “many mistakes”.

He was stripped of his party membership and all titles in September. Last week, he was charged with taking bribes, manipulating the securities market and possessing guns illegally. If convicted, he would face lengthy jail terms.

Sun first accepted a bank card with 1 million yuan (pounds 115,000) from Wang in 2011, in a sign that he agreed to help Wang, according to the televised confession. Wang then bribed Sun with bank cards, US dollars and company shares.

The Times