Former CNPC head on trial on corruption charge

 Jiang Jiemin, former head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and former head China's largest oil and gas producer, went on trial Monday over corruption charges, a local court said.

He is being tried at the Hanjiang Intermediate People's Court in Central China's Hubei province. The court began hearing the case at about 8:30 am.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) announced last month Jiang has been indicted on suspicion of corruption after completing its investigation into him.

Prosecutors accuse Jiang of taking bribes, abuse of power and owning property that he could not possibly have afforded on his legitimate earnings. They believe he took advantage of his posts to seek profit for others, taking a huge amount in bribes, when he worked with the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and PetroChina Company Limited.

Jiang was placed under investigation and removed from public office in September 2013 and stripped of his membership of the Communist Party of China in June 2014.

CNPC, the country's biggest oil and natural gas producer, has been a major target of the anti-graft campaign in the sector since August 2013 and at least 10 if its current and former executives were investigated.