In recent years, senior officials of the Chinese Communist Party have been exposed for rampant corruption amounting to tens of millions of yuan, with the standout figure being Ma Chaoqun, dubbed as the epitome of “small officials with huge greed,” whose corruption has exceeded a hundred million yuan. Ma Chaoqun was arrested a decade ago, but his case was discreetly revealed by mainland media only yesterday on December 27th, with the first-instance verdict sentencing him to death with a reprieve, a situation that has astonished netizens. There were insiders who once pointed out that Ma Chaoqun had powerful backers in Beijing.
On December 27th, Caixin Online published a special report titled “Involved Over 180 Million Yuan, Ma Chaoqun, Water Official of Beidaihe, Sentenced to Death with Reprieve in First Instance.” The report stated that the Beidaihe water official Ma Chaoqun, who was investigated ten years ago, finally received a preliminary trial result. The Qinhuangdao Intermediate People’s Court determined that his bribery, corruption, embezzlement of public funds amounted to a total of 109 million yuan, with an additional 74.3048 million yuan of unexplained sizable assets, illegal possession of four firearms, and also being convicted of intentionally causing harm and destroying property, seven crimes in total resulting in the death penalty with a reprieve.
The report mentioned that in 2014, news of Ma Chaoqun, the then general manager of the Beidaihe Water Supply Company in Qinhuangdao, having “over a hundred million yuan in cash found at home, 37 kilograms of gold, and property deeds for 68 sets” caused a public outcry. In reality, Ma Chaoqun had around 115 million yuan in cash seized, approximately 686,500 dollars in cash, 37.6 kilograms of gold, and 50 properties. When Ma’s family transferred assets, they used over 40 boxes and seven or eight backpacks.
Reacting to this, netizens on Weibo expressed amazement at the ten-year delay in sentencing:
“Only sentenced now? I thought he was about to be released. It’s been too long; I almost forgot about this person.”
“Ten years have passed, and he’s lived another ten years.”
“Such a serious crime and no death penalty?”
“Shouldn’t we focus on the ten-year delay in the first trial? Compare it with today’s Zhuhai hit-and-run case, with the first trial verdict in just 40 days. Ten years vs. forty days; one gets a reprieve, the other gets the death penalty.”
“This is an honest official.”
“I’m curious, why did it take ten years to sentence him?”
“In general, corruption cases do not dare to impose the death penalty, unless they arrest everyone in the chain, who dares to impose the death penalty. If someone sentenced to death knows they are going to die, wouldn’t they rat out more people before their death to try to gain credit for a reduced sentence?”
Referencing the report from Caixin Online, apart from Caixin, other official media outlets did not seem to report on Ma Chaoqun’s verdict.
Xinhua News Agency of the Chinese Communist Party reported on May 30, 2019, that from May 27 to 29, the first trial of Ma Chaoqun, the former Party Secretary and General Manager of the Beidaihe Water Supply Corporation in Qinhuangdao, suspected of bribery, corruption, embezzlement of public funds, unclear sources of substantial assets, and illegal possession of firearms, was held in the Qinhuangdao Intermediate People’s Court.
According to previous reports from mainland Chinese media, on the night of February 12, 2014, Ma Chaoqun and his younger brother Ma Chongqun, both working in a local water company, were taken away. Ma Chaoqun, his wife, son, brother, sister, and seven others were arrested. Dozens of police cars entered Beidaihe Lianfeng North Road that night. The case was jointly handled by the Public Security Bureau, the Procuratorate, and the Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission, involving around 200 armed police and special police.
Quoting an official from the local political and legal system, Southern Metropolis Daily reported that once Ma Chaoqun was subdued, members of the task force presented legal documents, but Ma snatched and tore them apart, leading him to be struck by the special police using the butt of a gun. This explains the source of the head injury with bleeding as claimed by his family.
As reported by mainland Chinese media, Ma Chaoqun’s sister Ma Qingru was suspected of illegally possessing firearms. On the night when the Ma brothers were captured, Ma Qingru accompanied her mother to urgently transfer dozens of boxes of assets.
On November 12, 2014, official media reported that Ma Chaoqun was “suspected of major economic crimes of corruption, bribery, and misappropriation of public funds,” with 120 million yuan in cash found at home, 37 kg of gold, and deeds for 68 properties.
On December 21, 2018, Ma Chaoqun’s brother, Ma Chongqun, former Vice General Manager of Qinhuangdao Shouchuang Water Co., Ltd., and Manager of Qinhuangdao Shouchuang Municipal Installation Engineering Co., Ltd., was sentenced to 13 years in prison for “suspected bribery and illegal operation of similar businesses” in the first trial, along with a fine of 2.5 million yuan.
Ma Chaoqun had been immersed in the local water supply system for 17 years, with rumors circulating that he had connections to organized crime.
An employee of the Beidaihe Water Supply Company said that Ma Chaoqun was arrogant, quick-tempered, and frequently resorted to violence. Not only were his subordinates afraid of him, but many superiors also avoided him. Locals believed that he had powerful connections. Political figures in Qinhuangdao also claimed he had a “tiger” backing him.
Huashang Daily quoted insiders revealing that Ma Chaoqun had boasted to a distant relative in his office in the summer of 2012, pointing to a photo on the wall of himself with a senior official in Beijing, saying, “He recognized me as his godson.”
Beidaihe is a significant political center for the Chinese Communist Party, where incumbent leaders and retired senior officials gather at this vacation destination every summer. There have been meetings related to high-level power struggles here in the past. There are speculations that Ma Chaoqun might have seized the opportunity to ingratiate himself with certain senior officials.
The Caixin Online report mentioned that during the court trial, Ma Chaoqun denied all charges, and after the verdict, he expressed dissatisfaction and has appealed.
The report pointed out that the Ma Chaoqun case not only reflects the commonality of corrupt officials but also carries a distinctive color of Beidaihe. Beidaihe hosts numerous sanatoriums and holiday resorts of institutions of all sizes, with over 100 sanatoriums for central ministries and enterprises alone. The Beidaihe Water Supply Company is responsible for the daily water supply of Beidaihe, Nandaihe tourist resort, and Beidaihe New District. Due to the unique geographical location of Beidaihe, the company also bears the responsibility of providing safe water supply to central leaders during the summer. According to local sources, Ma Chaoqun had received praise for his reception work from relevant individuals, gaining favor from “big shots,” which also fueled his “arrogant and domineering” attitude.
However, the report did not delve into any details about the “big shots,” leaving the outside world still uncertain about Ma Chaoqun’s influential backers.