Property tycoon Zhou Xiaodi attended a hearing in a Shanghai court yesterday on charges he masterminded an aggravated assault against his business partner and illegally traded land.

The 52-year-old former delegate to the city's Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and chairman of the multibillion-yuan Zhou Group appeared before Shanghai No 1 Intermediate People's Court with his general manager, driver and six other individuals allegedly involved in the assault.

The indictment said that on Aug 27, Zhou summoned general manager Xu Jiangang and driver Li Guangkui to the construction site of the jointly owned land plot, where he instructed the driver to assault Yin.

Zhou told the court he had never intended to injure Yin Minghua, general manager of Shanghai Xizi Property Development Company, with whom Zhou jointly owns land in Pudong.

"I didn't see Yin often," he said. "I may have mentioned once I wanted to teach Yin a lesson, but I didn't mean it."

Xu Jiangang, 56, a former official with the Pudong district police department, told the court Zhou had learned that day that Yin was organizing a groundbreaking ceremony on the jointly owned land. Yin had not invited Zhou.

"(Zhou) asked Li and me to go to the site with him," he said.

"Zhou and Li also called several others to the site to make trouble."

Xu also testified that Zhou and Yin had often argued as business partners.

But Zhou said the dispute was settled later that day, with both sides agreeing to cancel the ceremony.

On Nov 6, a group of six waited at a spot in Pudong's Sanlin. One drove a car to ram Yin's car on purpose. When Yin got out to inspect the damage, the others beat him with water pipes, seriously injuring his head and limbs, according to the indictment.

Yin said he still has difficulty walking.

Zhou and the group were arrested later that month, and he was stripped of his post as a CPPCC Shanghai committee delegate.

Yin's family told the court they wanted 16 million yuan ($2.3 million) in compensation, "because Yin signed an employment contract with Xizi for an annual salary of 1.5 million yuan and is now incapable of fulfilling his duties", the family's attorney Cao Haiyan said.

Zhou is expected to attend a hearing for the illegal land trading charges today.

According to the indictment, Zhou obtained land use rights for 1.69 million sq m in Sanlin. From September 2001 to November 2006, he was alleged to have illegally sold land to Shanghai Yangguang Investment Company, Shanghai Xizi Property Development Company, Shanghai Xinrong Property Development Company and Huanjing Company.

The companies paid Zhou 2 billion yuan in total.

(China Daily December 26, 2008)