By Cao Li (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-11 07:34

SHANGHAI: The cases of four government officials have been sent to the judicial department for legal proceedings. The government conducted an audit of the officials' departments over a three-year period.

Twenty-two others have been sacked or downgraded.

From 2004 to 2006, 785 officials and 113 leaders of State-owned enterprises (SOE) in Shanghai were audited. They were found to have misappropriated 1.385 billion yuan and mismanaged 7.14 billion yuan. Of this sum, 620 million yuan was directly related to officials or SOE heads.

Another 3.95 million yuan was used for their personal gain.

The Shanghai municipal government has vowed to conduct stricter supervision through auditing. A regulation stipulating the auditing of officials and SOE heads was introduced recently.

Auditing is playing an important role in supervising the use of power and curbing corruption, Shen Hongguang, standing member of the CPC Shanghai Committee, said on Wednesday.

More government units, party officials and company bosses will be audited this year. The focus will be on key departments, like purchasing, justice, and law enforcement agencies, Shen said.

The latest measure comes as the city attempts to curb the power of some officials following the misuse of 3.4 billion yuan in the social security fund last year. The fund covers about 13 million people.

The money was siphoned from the fund for building highways and for property development. Officials and SOE heads including the city's former party chief Chen Liangyu have been either sacked or arrested.

Chen was sacked from his post and the national legislature late last month. His case has been handed to the judicial department. No further development has been announced so far.

In a bid to educate officials and party members against corruption, the city's discipline committee has produced a documentary in which 11 officials and SOE heads tell how they became corrupt. Chen is not in the documentary.

All officials in the city above divisional level are required to watch the documentary and discuss its implications.

A party member said the documentary opens with the warning that power can corrupt.

"Many of the officials in the documentary, who had received honor and respect, shed tears while retelling their stories," he said.

(China Daily 08/11/2007 page3)