China official on trial for selling coveted car plates

Beijing

A FORMER head of Beijing's traffic management office went on trial for handing out coveted car number plates to businesspeople in return for nearly US$4 million in bribes, a court said.

Song Jianguo allegedly accepted more than 23.9 million yuan (S$5.2 million) in bribes over the decade from 2004 to last year, the Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court said in a statement.