Former Chinese Poverty Assistance Director Charged for Taking 10 Million-plus Yuan in Bribes and Misusing Poverty Assistance Funds

Chinese migrant workers wait in a bus as they leave after their shift at a construction site on Dec. 9, 2014 in Beijing, China. It is estimated that there are more than 40 million construction laborers in China, many of whom come from smaller centers to the country's larger cities to find work. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Liu Kunming, former poverty assistance director of Shanxi Province, was recently charged with bribery and abuse of power. He accepted bribes from 216 people that total 10.4 million yuan ($1.5 million).

According to a July 6 report from Beijing News, among the 216 people, 93 were poverty assistance directors from different counties and cities. These directors tried to get more funds from the provincial level poverty assistance program by reporting inflated numbers of migrants and residents below the poverty line, and falsely claiming some local development projects were qualified to get government funding.