A former Chinese banker was sentenced to three years in prison on Sunday for using forged documents to amass a portfolio of more than 40 Beijing properties, in the latest high-profile prosecution of figures whose wealth and privilege have aroused widespread public anger.
The case against Gong Aiai, better known by her public nickname “house sister”, garnered widespread online opprobrium in a country where property prices in large city centres are far beyond the reach of most people. Ms Gong, a 49 year-old former vice-president of a small rural bank in Shanxi province, used fake IDs while purchasing flats and shops in the capital worth Rmb395m.
The past month has been a busy period for China’s prosecutors, who are training their sights on the “tigers and flies”, or high and low-ranking officials, whom president Xi Jinping has promised to bring to justice as part of a wide-ranging anti-corruption campaign.