It is reported that Jailed Rio Tinto executive Mr Stern Hu used his appearance in a Shanghai courtroom this week to apologize to the mining giant for accepting bribes.

A lawyer for one of the three men standing trial with Mr Hu on charges of accepting bribes and stealing state secrets said that his co accused had made similar apologies as they asked the court for leniency.

Mr Hu and the three other Rio executives admitted taking bribes from steel mills to secure iron ore supplies, although they all dispute the amounts and at least three of the men have denied claims of stealing state secrets.

Mr Zhang Peihong the lawyer for one of the accused, Mr Wang Yong, told The Australian in Shanghai recently that each of the alleged bribes was made up of a raft of smaller amounts from a large number of mills. This means dozens of small and medium sized Chinese steel mills are implicated in the scandal.

Mr Hu has been charged with accepting CNY 6 million in bribes, Mr Ge Minqiang with CNY 6 million and Mr Liu Caikui CNY 3.7 million. They all dispute the amounts. Reports from China suggest that Liu has pleaded guilty to stealing state secrets while the others have pleaded their innocence.

Mr Zhang clarified that Wang had admitted taking a total of 4 million yuan in bribes from a number of mills, but was fighting a charge of receiving USD 9 million from large private mill, Rizhao Steel, which was then owned by Chinese billionaire Mr Du Shuanghua.

Mr Zhang said Hu told the court he was sorry, when he was given the opportunity to speak towards the end of the trial. He also asked for leniency from the court. Mr Zhang said his colleagues made similar apologies to Rio and pleas for leniency.

(Sourced from http://www.theaustralian.com.au)