Corruption allegations against Chinese engineer

Zhang Zheying, deputy chief engineer at contractor Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC) has been expelled from the Communist Party of China following charges of corruption.

Chinese state-owned news agency Xinhua has reported that Ms Zhang, a senior official at China’s fifth biggest contractor, faces charges of "serious disciplinary and legal violations."

An investigation by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) – MCC is a state-owned company – has reportedly found that Ms Zhang took advantage of her post to solicit bribes and other material advantages.

Ms Zhang’s expulsion from the Communist Party is a career-ending penalty that will prevent her from holding any public office. She is now likely to face criminal charges and accepting bribes can be punished by execution in China, although a prison sentence is more common.

According to iC’s league table of the world’s 200 largest construction companies, MCC is the world’s 10^th largest contractor, with revenues in 2012 of US$ 28.5 billion. The company is a general contractor and real estate developer, although as its name suggests, it has a history in building using steel in the high-rise and industrial sectors.