Former Shanghai Communist Party chief Chen Liangyu, who is under investigation for the Shanghai social security fund scandal, will not attend the annual meeting of the National People's Congress (NPC), a spokesman of the top legislature said in Beijing on Sunday.

Investigation into the Shanghai scandal is going smoothly and details of the case will be publicized at an appropriate time, said the spokesman, Jiang Enzhu, at a press conference ahead of the NPC's annual full session that will kick off on Monday.

A total of 3.7 billion yuan (US$475 million) of social security funds were found misused in Shanghai in 2006. Chen was sacked last September for alleged involvement in the scandal.

Nine other Shanghai officials involved in the case have been stripped of their posts and expelled from the Communist Party of China, who may also face criminal charges.

Former head of the National Bureau of Statistics Qiu Xiaohua was also sacked and expelled from the Communist Party of China for involvement in the scandal.

China has always been resolute in combating corruption, and a series of measures have been taken to improve the anti-corruption system, Jiang said.

"Through unremitting efforts, we are bound to curb corruption to the minimum," Jiang said.

In the recent four years, around 30 deputies and members of the country's top legislature and advisory body have been ousted.

Statistics show that from 2003 to October 2006, China's prosecuting organs at all levels tackled 67,505 graft-related criminal suspects.

An online poll launched in the run-up to the NPC and CPPCC National Committee sessions shows that anti-graft is still one of the most concerned issues among Chinese People.

(Xinhua News Agency March 4, 2007)