Senior officials of the Jiahe county government in central China's Hunan Province were removed from their posts for misuse of the power in a local relocation case.

The Committee of Communist Party of China (CPC) of Hunan Province decided to dismiss Secretary of the CPC Committee of Jiahe County Zhou Yuwu, County Head Li Shidong, Deputy County Head Shuifu and Assistant to the County Head Lei Xianzhi.

They were accused of misusing government power in a local real estate project and greatly harmed the interests of local residents, said the probe team jointly sent by the provincial government and the Ministry of Construction.

The county government granted the land-use certificate to a real estate developer before it paid for the land-use right and the certificate to relocate original residents without a compensation fund and relocation plan in place, according the probe.

A hearing, which is required by law, was not held before the county government forced 11 families to remove from their residences.

Three residents was improperly detained and 11 officials were wrongly demoted or dismissed from their original posts due to the relocation case since December last year.

What legal duty the officials who violated the laws will bear will depend on the investigation of judicial organs and the court, according to the provincial government.

Source: Xinhua