An ex-judge in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao was brought to trial for misconduct, bribery, and misusing public funds, three charges that allegedly involved millions of yuan while she was in office.

Court opened Monday in Zibo, adjacent to Qingdao, in Shandong Province, as the accused female judge of the Qindao Intermediate People's Court denied the charges brought against her.

39-year-old Deng Ning was accused of falsifying verdicts and executive notices that caused the litigants to lose 1.26 million yuan (US$153,658) and the state to lose 7.04 million in taxes, from July 2002 to March 2003, according to the prosecutors.

Deng was accused of taking 880,000 yuan in the evaluation and compensation business she handled for bankruptcy cases while in office.

Prosecutors said Deng, when acting as chief judge for bankruptcy cases in the Qingdao court, also squandered stocks worth more than 250,000 yuan in public funds she took out from the clearance of a bankrupt local restaurant.

About 220, 000 yuan of the misused funds have been recovered, according to the prosecutors.

Deng began her court career as an executing official of the Qindao Intermediate People's Court in February of 1999. She was promoted to a deputy chief judge in April, 2001.

Deng was detained for misconduct in court on August 6, 2004.

(Xinhua News Agency November 30, 2005)