160,000 party officials punished for corruption, according to graft watchdog
Watchdog refers to investigation into ex-Sichuan official and trials of Liu Zhijun and Bo Xilai
More than 160,000 Communist Party officials were punished last year - a 12.5 per cent increase from the year before, the party's graft watchdog said yesterday.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection's investigations also helped prevent 7.83 billion yuan (HK$9.64 billion) worth of economic losses for the country, according to Xinhua.
Separately, the party's disciplinary body said it had launched a formal investigation into Li Chuncheng , the former deputy party secretary of Sichuan province. Li was dismissed last month amid allegations of questionable real estate deals, making him the most senior person to be investigated since Xi Jinping became the party's new leader.
Disciplinary officials also mentioned two high-profile graft investigations currently in the hands of government prosecutors, involving disgraced former Politburo member Bo Xilai and former railways minister Liu Zhijun .
Liu, who oversaw the mainland's massive expansion of high-speed rail links, was removed from his post in 2011. He was later accused of committing serious economic crimes as well as political and moral wrongs.
The Xinhua article did not mention the specific charges against Bo. State prosecutors initiated the investigation into Bo in October, within hours of his formal expulsion from the national legislature.