Former Tianjin police chief Wu Changshun (right front) answers questions from citizens at a public Q&A session. It was announced on July 20 that he was being probed for corruption. Photo: CFP

Wu Changshun, head of Tianjin's public security bureau since 2003 and vice chairman of the city's political advisory body, appeared on a two-hour Tianjin radio program on July 11, just as he had every month for the past 19 years. He answered 25 questions from audience members, in keeping with his image as a man of the people.

Only nine days later, the Central Commission of Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Communist Party of China announced that Wu, 60, was being probed for "serious discipline violations."

The investigation of Wu came following the July 8 release of a report by a CCDI inspection team, saying that corruption had been found in local governments and Sate-owned companies, and that senior officials were involved.

With the announcement, Wu became yet another senior official caught in the widening anti-graft campaign across China and the first official to be probed in Tianjin, a province-level municipality neighboring Beijing, since 2012, The Beijing News reported on Monday.

The authorities did not elaborate on what Wu had done that had led to his downfall, but media reports have already begun to sketch an outline of his alleged network of corruption.

An inventive scheme

Growing up in Tianjin, Wu started his career as an ordinary traffic officer when he was 16, and spent the next 44 years working for the city's public security authorities.

Before he was put under investigation, Wu was also a research fellow or part-time lecturer in 18 colleges and universities.

Wu also had a reputation as an "inventor," and had filed 35 patents for inventions between 1999 and 2013, according to the State Intellectual Property Office's website. Thirty four were linked with police practices, such as traffic lights and a blood alcohol content detector that had been widely promoted locally. Another "invention" was simply a decorative golden statue featuring a boy holding a fish.

Many of Wu's inventions were promoted for police and traffic use in Tianjin, reports said.

According to Chinese law, inventors can earn up to 5 percent of the profits from sales of products based on their patents.

Wu might be probed for earning illegal profits from his inventions, The Beijing News reported on Monday.

Wu developed most of his inventions with staff or officials from Tianjin public security authorities and traffic authorities. Moreover, most of Wu's patented inventions belong to three companies associated with or run by Tianjin public security authorities, The Beijing News reported.

One traffic infrastructure manufacturer, Tianjin Zhengzhi Traffic Equipment Ltd Co., has been identified as the main platform for Wu's illegal profits. Caixin reported on Monday that the company, established in 1997, is controlled by the Tianjin public security bureau.

The company was a frequent winner in biding for local traffic manufacture projects while Wu headed the local traffic management bureau and the public security bureau.

And Wu was not an isolated case. Wang Lijun, the former vice mayor and police chief of Chongqing, also held more than 150 patents, most of them in the area of local public security systems, media have reported. Wang was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2013 for abuse of power, bribery and attempted defection. 

Traffic deals

Some rules set during Wu's time in office at local traffic authority have triggered widespread public complaints.

For example, local drivers are obligated to join a "drivers' association" in order to get driving licenses. Every driver paid 20 yuan for a year's membership.

Wu was the chairman of the association, which was set up in 1993, the year after Wu became head of Tianjin's traffic management bureau. It claimed 1.4 million out of 1.7 million registered local drivers as members, Caixin reported. The association claimed that it offered drivers training, consulting and maintenance, in an effort to decrease traffic accidents.

However, local drivers seemed to have a different opinion, as many complained about the association. One driver said that he even was told to buy a collection of books compiled by Wu.

Drivers who already have a license are required to register their cars and driving licenses with designated vehicle service agents, with some drivers paying as much as 320 yuan per year, China Youth Daily reported in 2006. Some of the service agents reportedly enjoyed close ties with local authorities.

In 2006, one private service agent filed a lawsuit against the traffic management bureau for administrative violations. The suit claimed that the drivers' association earned up to 30 million yuan each year from membership fees.

Tianjin residents have widely criticized one parking lot business controlled by local public security authorities, Caixin reported. The Tianjin Lianhua Group enjoyed an almost total monopoly over all parking lot operation in the city, sparking wide public complaints.

In November 2013, Li Zijian, a local legislature member, wrote a post on his Weixin account criticizing the Lianhua Group. Li was then interrogated by police and made to apologize to Wu for defaming "Tianjin police's reputation."

More than 10 people have been interrogated by police for reposting Li's article since March, Caixin reported. 

A long career

Media reported that Wu's crackdown was tied to his relationship with his former supervisors, Li Baojin and Song Pingshun.

Li, the former head of the Tianjin prosecuratorate, received a suspended death sentence in 2007 for bribery. Song, former head of Tianjin public security bureau, committed suicide in 2007 after being probed for bribery and abuse of power.

Wu, as Song's successor, has been questioned by disciplinary watchdogs several times in the past seven years, but was never formally probed.  

Wu stepped down from his position as chief of the public security bureau on July 18, only two days after the CCDI's announcement. Media reported that the public security bureau had a farewell party for Wu, as many of his fellow officials thought that he had just retired.