China Penalizes Official Over $115,000 Lavish Banquet Bill
China has suspended one of its high-flying officials for allegedly spending an accumulated unpaid bill of $115,080 (700,000 yuan) at a specialty pig trotter restaurant.
Han Junhong, party secretary in Wangluo in the central province of Henan, was the implicated government official in the latest drive to bust corrupt officers. According to the Global Times, Han allegedly accumulated the unpaid bills over a span of three years. The unnamed restaurant was dubbed as the town's designated venue for official functions.
The lavish lifestyle and spending could have been entirely gone unnoticed had not for the posting of banners by restaurant owner Geng Weijie outside his establishment. The banners was purposely set up to shame Han into paying up.
"I had no other way but to put up banners with details of the debt outside my restaurant in an attempt to recover the money," Geng, 42, told Global Times.
He was supposed to have received cash payments in installments, but government cash flow difficulties sometimes hindered this, Zhao Zhanhong, office director of the township government was quoted by The Beijing News.
The two bright red banners Geng posted outside his shop blaringly shouted, "Town secretary and town chief, pay back the money: 700,000 yuan of IOUs!"
The result was instantaneous. On Friday, his company's account received a bank deposit worth 700,450 yuan, according to local media.
In addition, Han also appeared at Geng's doorstep, apologizing for his faults. He has been suspended pending a disciplinary investigation.