Inquries over bribery up in China

BEIJING - Chinese prosecutors received more than 600,000 inquiries about bribery records involving companies or individuals in the first six months, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said in a statement Sunday.

The figure represents a 76.5 percent rise from the same period last year, as more government departments and trade associations are taking advantage of such inquiries to prevent possible corruption, the SPP said.

More than 830,000 enterprises, institutions and more than 1.11 million individuals were inquired of, according to the SPP.

Since February 2012, procuratorates and government authorities have pushed for tighter market access for companies and individuals who had records of giving out bribes.

The move, which is an attempt to fight corruption by the SPP, has targeted construction projects, government procurement, public resources use, bank loans, the purchase of pharmaceutical and medical equipment, transportation, commerce, and personnel management.

Individuals, companies, or institutions will have their credit ratings lowered or licenses revoked, or even banned from their trade if they were found to have offered bribes to others.