Photo: VCG

A recent case involving corruption by an employee of an e-commerce platform has generated heated discussion on the internet in China. The Public Security Bureau in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province charged the suspect with having accepted bribes worth over 92 million yuan ($12.7 million), CCTV News reported on Tuesday.

The suspect, surnamed Wang, was identified as a member of staff at a well-known e-commerce platform, the report said.

Wang was found to have accepted bribes from merchants totaling over 92 million yuan in just one year. His trial has already begun, according to CCTV News.

According to Wang, he received the bribes in the space of about one year, through online transfers, payment in cash and even gold bars. The police said a total of more than 400 enterprises were involved in the case.

Wang was responsible for approval of businesses in the furniture category on the e-commerce platform, but it was noticed that the number of officially approved stores far exceeded the normal level, and many of the merchants did not meet the platform's requirements, the police found.

Wang was charged with accepting bribes and abuse of power by turning his approval authority into a business.

After the case was exposed by domestic media outlets, the e-commerce platform involved said it had redesigned the approval process with the help of local authorities. The platform has used big data technology for analysis to reduce problems from human factors, CCTV News reported.

Global Times