China's 'watch brother' goes on trial on corruption charges

A senior Chinese official, dubbed as 'watch brother' for wearing luxury watches, stood trial on charges of corruption and having disproportionate assets.
The trial of Yang Dacai, the head of the Shaanxi provincial work safety administration, started at Xi'an City Intermediate People's Court yesterday.
Yang is accused of possessing family property of 11.77 million yuan (USD 1.9 million), though, he cannot identify where 5.04 million yuan of the property came from, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The prosecution argues that Yang's family deposits are far more than his income as a public servant.
Yang was photographed smiling at the site of a traffic accident in August last year in which 36 people were killed.

He came under criticism as his expression was seen as unsympathetic.

Photographs soon surfaced on the Internet of Yang wearing luxury wristwatches on different occasions, earning him the nickname 'Watch Brother'.
Although Yang claimed he purchased the watches with his own salary, netizens argued the public servant could not afford such expensive items.
After an initial investigation, Yang was dismissed from his position as a member of the Shaanxi Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China (CPC), as well as head and CPC chief of the provincial work safety administration, in September 2012.
He was expelled from the CPC and his case was transferred to judicial authorities in February, according to Shaanxi provincial disciplinary authorities.

The disciplinary authorities then said Yang was engaged in serious disciplinary violations and suspected of committing crimes during his tenure.