Lawmaker arrested for running public cemetery

A lawmaker in Lufeng, a county-level city in Guangdong province, was arrested on Tuesday night for running a public cemetery, the local government said on Wednesday.

According to Chinese laws, public cemeteries should not be operated by companies or individuals for commercial purposes.

A probe by the local anti-corruption agency said that Lin Yaochang, a deputy of the Shanwei People's Congress, had allegedly violated the law by appropriating farmland to run a public cemetery in Lufeng.

Lin reportedly built the cemetery and sold the graves for more than 2,000 yuan ($326) per square meter and has sold more than 8,000 graves so far.

Lin was dubbed the “Grandpa of Graves” after Lin Jianguo, former chief of Tangdong village in Lufeng, told authorities the lawmaker earned a large sum of money after receiving a contract for the Anfu Cemetery in Lufeng in July 2008.

The case is under further investigation, the local government said.