China Resources chairman Song Lin sacked in corruption scandal
Journalists' campaign ends in once HK-based Song Lin's dismissal for 'serious violations of discipline' after claims of affair with banker
It made him one of the most senior state enterprise chiefs formerly based in Hong Kong to be toppled for corruption.
The dismissal was prompted by an online exposé four days earlier of an alleged extramarital affair involving Song. It proved the last straw in a year-long campaign by two mainland journalists to pressure Beijing into taking action against Song.
Xinhua, citing the party's organisation department, said Song, 51, was dismissed from his post as chairman and party boss of China Resources Holdings, the parent group of five Hong Kong-listed companies, including three Hang Seng Index constituent stocks. He was replaced by general manager Qiao Shibo.
An online posting on Tuesday by Wang Wenzhi, a journalist at a newspaper under Xinhua, claimed Song had an affair with Helen Yang Lijuan, a senior investment banker at the Hong Kong office of UBS, who allegedly helped him to launder money.
Song attempted to fight back with an online rebuttal. But on Thursday night, the central government's top anti-corruption agency said it was investigating.
Song's downfall was expected ... then it happened that his affair was exposed
