The former Shanghai Communist Party Secretary Chen Liangyu is in jail awaiting trial on corruption charges, state media reported. Chen, who was disgraced last year for illegally granting loans from Shanghai's social security fund to private companies and helping them buy shares of state-owned enterprises, was expelled from the Communist Party in July. Gan Yisheng, a spokesman for the Party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, said Chen's case demonstrates a need for greater scrutiny of officials before they are promoted to high-level positions. Gan said that the death penalty "is applicable to serious economic crimes", referring to the recent execution of former State Food and Drug Administration head Zheng Xiaoyu.