Over 500 officials punished for corruption in southern China in 2010

[News_Editor]

Over 500 officials punished for corruption in southern China in 2010

2011-02-23 22:38:11 GMT+7 (ICT)

HAINAN, CHINA (BNO NEWS) -- A total of 515 Chinese officials were punished or referred to prosecution in 2010 in the southern Hainan province, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.

Hainan authorities, the southern China island province, informed that in 2010 they investigated 348 corruption cases involving officials. Thirty-six of them were referred to prosecution while 479 others were given disciplinary or administrative punishments.

In one of the cases, authorities found out that 33 officials of Hainan's salt business administration spent 629,800 yuan ($95,730) during a two-week tour in Europe last year.

The money spent was from public funds as the officials visited 10 countries. In addition to the punishments, the officials were also ordered to pay back the money spent in the tour.

Another high-profile case involved Tan Dengyao, the former mayor of Dongfang City, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison in early 2011. Tan was found guilty of taking money and materials worth $829,650.

An investigation found out that the former Dongfang mayor received bribes in exchange for favors. The 46-year-old official aided businessmen to get promotion and benefits from illegally using land.

The 348 corruption cases in Hainan were part of China's anti-corruption efforts in tightening supervision of public expenses and the behavior of officials. Overall, 5,098 officials were punished and 804 more were referred to prosecution nationwide last year.

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