Mainland police have been banned from setting foot in commercial entertainment venues such as nightclubs as part of a wider clampdown on corruption.
The anti-graft drive was launched by the Communist Party Committee of the Ministry of Public Security, Xinhua reported yesterday.
The new regulation states that police officers may not accept invitations to any entertainment venues. They may not use the venues for official functions or accept any cash, securities or bonuses from non-tradable shares. Officers' relatives are not allowed to run businesses that could cause a conflict of interest.
The new regulation follows a deadly fire at the Dance King nightclub in Shenzhen on September 20 that killed 44 people and exposed negligence and corruption by a number of officers.
This year, a district court sentenced a former high-ranking city police officer to 11 years in jail for dereliction of duty and corruption in relation to the fire.
Chen Xuming, 38, who was deputy head of Longgang district's public security bureau at the time of the blaze, was ordered to serve six years in jail for taking 60,000 yuan (HK$68,000) in bribes from the owner of the club and another term for dereliction of duty in allowing the unlicensed club to operate.
