Over 15,000 prosecuted in China for duty-related crimes

BEIJING -- The first 11 months of last year saw more than 15,000 people prosecuted for duty-related crimes across China, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said on Thursday.

According to the SPP, over 80 percent of job-related crimes involved corruption and bribery, and primary level officials accounted for the vast prosecuted majority.

Procuratorial organs have been prudent in handling duty-related crimes involving private enterprises. Meanwhile, they have intensified efforts to crack down on crimes involving officials acting as "protective umbrellas" for organized crimes or local bullies, the SPP said.

Preliminary statistics show that property and money worth 52.98 million yuan (about 8.2 million U.S. dollars) involved in criminal cases concerning poverty alleviation have been recovered and returned from January to September. The recovery benefitted 11,094 people living in poverty, the SPP added.