SPP punishes those involved in bribery

Procuratorial organs have punished both those who give or accept bribes, and suggested stricter punishment to bribe givers, according to the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Shi Weizhong, head of the SPP's third procuratorial office, said that targeting bribers can effectively curb corruption.

From January to November 2022, procuratorates across the country prosecuted 1,704 bribers, according to the SPP.

Procuratorial organs have taken action against both bribe givers and takers, especially for those who gave bribes multiple times, in large amounts or to multiple people, he said.

"In addition, heavy punishment was imposed on people who used bribes to hunt and corrupt officials in key areas such as organization and human resources, production safety, education and medical care," he said.

In December, the SPP issued a guideline for strengthening the handling of bribery cases, requiring strict punishment to solve both the symptoms and root causes.

"Many bribers spend the money because they can get more benefits through bribery. If the bribers achieve their aims, they may offer more bribes to more officials, forming a circle trading money and power, which would lead to major losses of national interests," Shi said.

In one case in Jiangxi province, authorities recovered 215 million yuan ($31.5 million) of State-owned asset losses, he said.

The duty crime department in procuratorates at all levels bears the major responsibility of carrying out the anti-corruption campaign and handling cases transferred by the supervision commission. The department also strengthened the analysis of the sources of corruption, and actively put forward procuratorial suggestions to promote anti-corruption work, he said.

In 2022, procuratorates nationwide issued 2,206 suggestions related to duty crimes, up 63 percent year-on-year.

In one case, the Shanxi Provincial People's Procuratorate carried out a special investigation into graft involving grain purchases and marketing in the province. Later, the Shanxi Bureau of Food and Strategic Reserves improved measures in areas such as cadre rotation, grain purchasing and marketing, and financial management.

From January to November 2022, procuratorates nationwide handled duty crime cases transferred by supervisory commissions involving 18,607 people, a year-on-year increase of 0.7 percent. Among them, 14,486 have been prosecuted, including 22 senior officials under the management of the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.