BEIJING: A senior official is being tried in a Chinese court for several cases of corruption and illegal income which helped him to maintain 46 mistresses at different times and an entire building to house them.

The official, Huang Sheng , is a former deputy provincial governor of Shandong. He is being tried in Nanjing .

China's anti-corruption sleuths have successfully been using links between mistress keeping and official corruption . They use evidence gathered by tracking the mistresses' movements to nail down corruption officials. Keeping mistresses is seen as a status symbol for the rich and successful in China.

Huang has been accused of selling government plots, demanding cuts and bribes in government-backed projects and tearing down many houses for real estate development by property companies. He has also been accused of using bribe income to support the expensive lifestyle of 46 mistresses. He provided free accommodation to them. There are allegations that Huang, in charge of culture and tourism, wielded more power than his position allowed, worked on behalf of more powerful party officials and passed on some of the loot.