Anhui Vice-Governor He Minxu is being investigated for corruption by the Party's disciplinary body, a leading newspaper reported Tuesday.

He, 51, was detained on June 22 for allegedly accepting bribes as well as dereliction of duty in handling a riot in Chizhou city last June, said Guangzhou-based 21st Century Business Herald.

He was Chizhou's Party chief at the time of the riot before becoming vice-governor shortly afterwards, it said.

No comment was available from the Party discipline inspection commissions at either the central or provincial level.

It is the latest in a series of corruption cases involving senior officials in the past month.

Beijing Vice-Mayor Liu Zhihua, who was in charge of Olympic construction projects, was removed from his post last month.

Wang Shouye, former deputy commander of the Navy of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, was expelled from the national legislature on charges of economic crimes late last month.

"Lack of effective supervision is partly to blame for high-ranking officials becoming corrupt," said Ren Jianming, a professor on anti-corruption at Tsinghua University.

A well-formulated legal and supervision system has to be established if the issue is to be forcefully addressed, he said.

Official figures show that courts sentenced six ministerial-level officials last year.

During an inspection tour last weekend in Qingdao, Shandong Province, Wu Guanzheng, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, called for enhanced Party-building and an anti-corruption drive in state-owned enterprises.

Wu urged that investigations be stepped up in corruption cases including those involving embezzling State assets and commercial bribery and called for increased supervision to stem the menace.

(China Daily July 12, 2006)