China charges 17 who "rescued" graft suspect
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-11-29 15:53
Beijing - Seventeen people face trial in Beijing after they "rescued" a man who was
being interrogated by anti-corruption authorities, the Beijing Youth Daily
reported on Wednesday.
The 17, who were charged
with "disturbance of social order", appeared in Beijing Haidian court on Tuesday for the
start of the trial, the paper said.
It said the defendants
include relatives, friends and the mistress of Yao Chuanrui, a former manager of
a construction company who has been charged with embezzling 70 million yuan
($8.93 million) of company funds.
Yao had secretly contacted the
defendants earlier in the year, months after he had been taken into custody,
telling them where he was being detained and urging them to "rescue" him, the
newspaper said.
"I have been suffering a lot here," it quoted Yao as
saying in the note, sent by a guard he had bribed.
"Please find some
people to get me out of here," the note said.
The defendants helped Yao escape from the secure hotel
where he was being held, but they were arrested days later, according to the
account.
Yao faces charges of fraud and
embezzlement.
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