Fourteen of the accused were director-level officials. They were found to be involved in 1,772 criminal cases ranging from embezzlement and bribery to dereliction of duty.

The procuratorate's work has helped to retrieve over 300 million yuan worth of economic losses.

Procuratorates at different levels in the province, which is witnessing China's fastest economic growth, found many of the corrupt officials had set up a "safety network" for criminal suspects in order to manipulate the market order.

The procuratorates investigated some 490 suspects, who were found to have abused their power by undermining the reform and development in state-owned enterprises. So far, 139 of them have been arrested, with 3.2 million yuan(US$435,482) of illegal income seized.

The provincial procuratorate will soon open a procurator hotline to encourage tip-offs in an intensified fight against corruption this year.

(Xinhua News Agency January 28, 2002)