China mayor fired for 'offences'

Mr Xu has alleged links to Wong Kwong-yu

The mayor of China's southern boom town of Shenzhen, Xu Zongheng, has been sacked for "disciplinary offences", state media have said.

The reports did not list the offences, but earlier in the week Mr Xu was questioned in a corruption probe.

Several officials have already been caught up in a probe into Wong Kwong-yu, the founder of China's biggest electronics retailer, Gome Appliances.

Mr Wong is under investigation for alleged financial crimes.

Two senior police officials responsible for investigating financial crimes have also been caught up in the spreading scandal.

"Due to his serious disciplinary offences, the central authority has decided to remove Xu from his post and the case is being handled according to procedures," China's official news agency Xinhua quoted an unnamed official from the Communist Party's Central Committee as saying.

Mr Xu, 54, became mayor of Shenzhen in 2005.

It has grown in the last few decades from a farming village to a large industrial city making electronics, clothing and other goods - many destined for export.