.jpg)
ATTY. MEL STA. MARIA: The advantage, questions, standard of a Corona testimony
Jessica Sanchez's rival in 'Idol' crown has severe kidney problems, needs immediate surgery - TMZ
Sensational Samal: More people flock to town of Jessica's mom after Sanchez makes it to Idol finale
NATO activates missile shield, reaches out to Russia
InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
SHANGHAI -- China has detained another private company executive in the eastern province of Zhejiang for illegal fund raising, as the government cracks down on so-called shadow banking, state media said Monday.
Police in Wenzhou city -- the cradle of private companies in China -- detained Dong Shunsheng, head of Liren Education Group which has interests in education, property, and mining, the Global Times newspaper said.
Some creditors had already protested outside government offices in Wenzhou's Taishun county, where the company is based, after the firm failed to repay debts, it said.
Dong borrowed from roughly 1,000 private lenders, amassing debts of 2.2 billion yuan ($350 million), the official Xinhua news agency said.
China has cracked down on private lending, which had flourished in Wenzhou, since last year after defaults raised worries of a debt crisis.
Private companies have turned to underground financing as major banks tend to favor large, state-owned enterprises.
State media last year estimated more than 90 bosses have fled and two committed suicide in Wenzhou after borrowing from private lenders at very high interest rates.
A separate statement from the local government said Dong was detained to "preserve social stability" and protect the legal interests of creditors.
A spokesman for Taishun county, which issued the statement, declined further comment.
Liren, set up in 2003, has three dozen businesses, including both schools and companies. It mainly operates middle schools.
Last month, a Chinese court upheld a death sentence for another entrepreneur who was once listed among the country's richest women, after she was convicted of illegal fund raising.
Zhejiang province's supreme court rejected the appeal of Wu Ying, former head of diversified Bense Holding Group, after she was convicted of defrauding investors of 380 million yuan.
But the case has sparked controversy as China's outspoken web users question whether someone should die for seeking funding outside the state banking system, a common practice for the nation's private companies.
In another case, Wenzhou businesswoman Zheng Zhuju, who ran a successful appliance store, was detained by police after she tried to flee from several hundred creditors.
