Chinese 'smiling' official gets 14 years in jail for graft

A top Chinese official who flaunted a range of expensive watches and was filmed "smiling" at a fatal accident in which 36 people were killed, was today sentenced to 14 years in prison for indulging in corruption.
Yang Dacai, former head of northwest China's Shaanxi province's work safety administration, was found guilty of taking bribes and holding a large amount of unaccounted property by the Xi'an Intermediate People's Court.
Dacai first came under scrutiny of Chinese internet users after he was pictured smiling as he assessed the twisted wreckage of a bus and a methanol tanker following an accident which left 36 people dead in August last year.

He earned the tag of "Brother Watch" after images of him wearing various luxury brand watches were tracked down and circulated.
Pictures posted online showed him wearing 11 flashy watches -- five of which were together worth more than 300,000 yuan (USD 48,000), the China Daily newspaper quoted an expert as saying. Other images showed him in designer glasses and belts.
Although Dacai claimed he purchased the watches with his own salary, netizens argued the public servant could not possible have afforded such expensive items.

Dacai's trial followed an investigation by the ruling Communist Party's discipline inspection commission, which found Yang guilty of "inappropriate 'smiling face' behaviour" and dismissed him from his post in September 2012.

The court ordered confiscation of the 250,000 yuan (USD 40,500) that Dacai amassed through bribes and property worth over 5 million yuan (USD 8,00,000). He was also fined 50,000 yuan (USD 8200). Dacai did not appeal against the verdict, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Dacai is one of the many officials, including disgraced Chinese leader Bo Xilai, who have faced trials for corruption in recent time.