Disgraced officials from east China's Anhui Province had about 700 assorted items in their ownership auctioned on Monday. .

The 676 items including jewelry, paintings, jade and even computers were in the hands of six officials found guilty of corruption. They included Wang Huaizhong, a former provincial deputy governor, who was executed in February 2004 for taking bribes totaling 5.17 million yuan (US$623,000).

The auction was held at Anhui Library in Hefei and attracted a crowd of more than 300 people.

"Many people showed interest as the reserve prices of the ill-gotten gains were low," said Cai Yi, general manager with the Guo'an Auction Company. By 3:00 PM 315 items had been sold with prices ranging from 20 yuan (US$2.5) to 20,000 yuan (US$2,500).

An ivory fan, which had been in the possession of Xiao Zuoxin, former mayor of Fuyang City, who was jailed for life for taking bribes, was auctioned for 7,500 yuan (US$963). This was more than six times its reserve price.

Xu Yong, the fan's new owner, wasn't concerned about where the fan came from. "It had value in itself and was worth buying," he said.

The money raised by the auction will go into the local government coffers.

(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2007)