China prosecutes 28,387 for duty-related crimes in 2018, 2019: official

BEIJING -- A total of 28,387 people were prosecuted for duty-related crimes in 2018 and 2019, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) announced on July 21.

During this period, China's supervisory commissions at all levels transferred 40,326 people suspected of committing duty-related crimes to the procuratorial organs, said Wang Shouan, an official with the SPP.

Among these suspects, 16,092 were transferred in 2018 and 24,234 in 2019, up by 50.6 percent, Wang said, adding that 954 were not prosecuted after investigation.

Of the cases handled by prosecutors, more than 80 percent were related to embezzlement and bribery, while around 10 percent involved dereliction of duty and infringement of others' rights, he said.

A majority of the crimes were committed by primary-level government employees in fields such as project construction, land expropriation, house demolition and relocation, and special subsidies, Wang said.

Prosecutors filed 30 applications for confiscating the illegal gains of hidden or dead suspects of embezzlement and bribery according to the law, recovering 556 million yuan (about 80 million U.S. dollars), he added.