A former mainland official has been accused of privately gambling in Macau 112 times between 2007 and 2018 with public funds amounting to over 40 million Chinese yuan, a Chinese official publication has recently disclosed.
According to the latest edition of the Zhongguo Jijian Jiancha Magazine, the publication related to the disciplinary supervision body of the Chinese government, Mei Yunian, former deputy secretary and deputy director of the party group of the Yichang Development and Reform Commission, who lost over 5 million yuan during his 112 visits to casinos in Macau.
The article was written by Xie Shengli, member of the Standing Committee of the Yichang Municipal Party Committee, secretary of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection, and director of the Municipal Supervisory Committee of the same city.
The article disclosed that in 2007, Mei bought a lottery ticket for the first time. In a later official visit to Macau and Hong Kong, he discovered casino gambling more stimulating than playing the lottery. The article noted he started alternating between gambling losses and wins.
During the three years of the Covid-19 pandemic, the article disclosed, Mei did not give up his “bad habit” and started online gambling. He even sacrificed his sleep and played Baccarat online overnight. It cost him over 18 million yuan.
In the attempts to settle his gambling debts, Mei not only borrowed money from his co-workers, service recipients and management targets, but also started his own company, took paid part-time jobs and appropriated public funds, according to the article.
Obtaining income from work outside of their official employment and the operation of businesses are prohibited for civil servants in mainland China.
The article even criticized the former official for taking a nap in the waiting hall at the Jinwan Airport in Zhuhai on his way back home after his official visit to Macau, “because he only had a couple of hours’ sleep the previous two nights in Macau, as he spent most of his nights gambling in the casino.”
In March last year, Mei was placed under investigation. Previous information showed that Mei was accused of committing serious violations of duty and illegal conduct following disciplinary reviews and supervisory investigations by the Yichang Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision. He was also subjected to detention measures.
The article demanded more in-depth education on gambling warning signs “because the family of Mei did not realize and impede his abnormal activity that turned [to] addictive gambling.”
