China National Petroleum Corp anti-graft chief Wang Lixin 'detained'

China National Petroleum Corporation's anti-corruption chief Wang Lixin has been detained by corruption investigators, according to a mainland news report, the latest senior official to be questioned at the country's biggest energy producer.

Wang, the head of the state-run company's discipline and inspection department, was taken away last month to assist in the investigation by anti-graft authorities, the news service Caixin reported.

It made him the 10th high-level official at the Beijing-based firm known to have been detained since August last year as part of the corruption investigation at the company, the report said, without naming the source of its information.

Wang was among several officials at the firm taken away at about the same time, including the head of its general office, Caixin said. The firm's external affairs and news departments did not answer calls yesterday.

Several senior officials at China National Petroleum Corporation, or CNPC, were placed under investigation in August last year for alleged violations of Communist Party discipline, an expression often used by the government to describe alleged corruption.

They were former deputy general managers Wang Yongchun and Li Hualin, former vice president Ran Xinquan and PetroChina's former chief geologist Wang Daofu.

A few days later, Jiang Jiemin , the former director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and a former head at CNPC were also detained to assist in the investigation.