JIANGSU

Tobacco official pleads guilty to graft charges

Zhao Hongshun, former deputy director of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, pleaded guilty at a court in Huaian, Jiangsu province, on Thursday to accepting bribes. Prosecutors accused him of using his work positions in various tobacco bureaus to seek benefits for organizations and individuals in matters including printing and advertising business as well as job promotions from 2002 to 2018. They added that Zhao had illegally taken properties and gifts worth 90.3 million yuan ($12.8 million). The court said that the verdict will be announced at a later date.

BEIJING

Man, 41, accused of killing female student

Police in Beijing on Thursday evening arrested a 41-year-old man who was suspected of killing a middle school student earlier the same day. The public security bureau in the capital's Dongcheng district said through its Sina Weibo account that the suspect, surnamed Zhang, allegedly killed a female middle school student at 6:30 am near an overpass on Tiantan East Road, and he was soon caught by the police. The student's age was not disclosed. Police said Zhang confessed to the offense and further investigation is underway.

GUANGDONG

Suspect confesses to sexual assault on girl

A 54-year-old man has been caught by police and confessed to sexually assaulting a 12-year-old mentally disabled girl, local police in Guangdong province said on Thursday. The man, surnamed Xie, is accused of repeatedly sexually abusing the girl and made her pregnant twice in eight months. In a notice released on Saturday, the public security bureau in Xinyi city said it had received a report in March that a girl had been sexually abused and become pregnant. In late October, the girl's family told police she was pregnant again, just months after having an abortion for the first pregnancy. The police said on Thursday that further investigation is continuing.