PAPEETE – The president of French Polynesia’s assembly, Marcel Tuihani, has been charged with receiving stolen public property as part of a theft probe involving the territory’s disgraced former president, Gaston Flosse.

Mr Tuihani was detained amid suspicion that he was linked to the alleged theft of about $US70,000 ($F140,000) worth of china from the presidential palace after Flosse was forced from office because of a corruption conviction upheld by France’s highest court earlier this year.

While much of the crockery was found at Flosse’s private home, some of it was allegedly taken to the assembly office, which Mr Tuihani made available to Flosse after his demise.