The incentive to fight corruption just got better. Blowing the lid off a scandal can now fetch you up to 200,000 yuan (29,000 U.S. dollars), according to a new regulation released Tuesday.

Whistleblowers will be entitled to 10 percent of the value of the properties that are expropriated in graft cases, said a revised work report released by the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP).

"Generally, the reward is expected to be under 100,000 yuan, but those who provide tip-offs that have a significant impact can be given up to 200,000 yuan," the report said.

"And if the SPP approves, the amount can be even higher if the informant helps blow the lid off a major scandal."

Whistleblowers also stand to receive up to 5,000 yuan if the tip-offs help uncover a criminal case without expropriated properties.

Procuratorates will give out the monetary rewards after a court verdict has concluded or is taking effect, the report said.

Last year, procuratorates handled 33,546 cases of graft, bribery and dereliction of duty, with 41,179 people investigated, SPP Procurator-general Cao Jianming said in his work report in March.

A total of 2,687 county-level and higher officials were prosecuted, including 181 at the municipal level and four at the provincial level. SPP spokesman Tong Jianming said tip-offs by the general public had exposed a "significant number" of corruption cases in the past six years.

Individuals and institutions who have information of any crimes, such as corruption, bribery or dereliction of duty, can either visit procuratorates to provide clues or help via letters, phone calls, faxes or can also access the authorities online at the SPP's official website jubao.spp.gov.cn.

In the past 5 years, procuratorates of all levels received more than 300,000 reports from the public against job-related crimes.

"Eighty percent of the cases exposed were tipped off by the general public," Tong told China Daily.

The new provisions also emphasized on the protection of whistleblowers.

Procuratorates of all levels will allocate staff to record all tip-offs in "special computers" and no one will be allowed to access the information without proper authorization from relevant authorities.

All information and material related to the tip-offs should be "kept properly and unrelated staff will not be allowed in offices that deal with such reports", the revised regulations said.

"It is forbidden for any information about whistle-blowers' names, addresses and phone numbers to be released to their employers or any other inappropriate groups."

(China Daily May 6, 2009)