In early April, WiC reported that a group of middle-aged women were caught taking ketamine in a local karaoke joint. Last week, a politician in Hunan was also brought down after a drug trip. In mid-April, police in the city of Linxiang received a call from a man at a local karaoke lounge claiming that his life was under threat. When they arrived at the scene, they allegedly found Gong Weiguo, mayor of the city, naked and slouched over a table covered with crystal meth.
Promoted to be a mayor in 2011, Gong reportedly sought solace in drugs because of the daunting pressure from the job. But another theory has it that local businessmen, trying to curry favour with the mayor, have quietly been feeding his addiction.
Meanwhile, people who have worked for Gong claim that his mood had been “unstable” recently and he was “irritable” on a daily basis. His former colleagues also revealed to Beijing Youth Daily that the mayor was sweating profusely during meetings.
Needless to say, Gong has since been sacked from his job. The good news is that he is seeking help: Linxiang’s Party Secretary Huang Junjun told local media that Gong had requested 40 days of treatment for his “depression” in hospital.
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