Asia Sentinel tells the story of a senior official in Jinan who conspired with a local police officer to murder his mistress, who had blackmailed him:
It was the most dramatic illustration of how mistresses have become a part of China’s corruption story. It is so serious that, on July 8, the Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s Procurate issued a legal ruling that includes mistresses for the first time in the definition of “those having a special relationship with an official.” Previously, the law spoke of “those having common interests with an official,” but did not mention mistresses as a category. By this change, the court made it easier for prosecutors to charge corrupt officials if they find misdeeds that involve one’s “little” wife.
The ruling includes the term “a person having a special relationship with an official” and defines this as a close relative, a mistress or others. The inclusion of mistresses is necessary because they frequently demand money, cars, apartments and other gifts from their lovers. When he cannot pay out of his official salary, he has to look elsewhere. [Full text]