Party chief dined for free before stampede

Zhou Wei, the Huangpu district party chief who is to be sacked over Shanghai's New Year's Eve stampede, was also found using public funds to pay for an expensive meal minutes before the deadly tragedy.

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Some Huangpu district officials were dining at a Japanese restaurant called Kongchan at the time of the tragedy.

Published: 5:38am, 22 Jan 2015

Zhou Wei, the Huangpu district party chief who is to be sacked over Shanghai's New Year's Eve stampede, was also found using public funds to pay for an expensive meal minutes before the deadly tragedy, the city's anti-graft agency said yesterday.

The agency said Zhou and five other officials violated the party's rules on extravagant and wasteful spending. They consumed food and drinks that cost 2,700 yuan (about HK$3,410) and left without paying, it said.

All the party officials had received warnings, the announcement said. Two, including Zhou, were stripped of their party posts. Another official was demoted.

Some Huangpu district officials were dining at a Japanese restaurant called Kongchan - where the lowest set dinner per person costs 1,888 yuan - at the time of the tragedy, reports by news website Caixin.com and said.

The stampede took place as huge crowds assembled near to the Bund, on Shanghai's waterfront to watch a light show.

Shanghai authorities also confirmed reports stating the Japanese restaurant was run by a firm owned by the Huangpu district State Assets Administration Committee, which meant officials could dine without paying.