Official absconding with stolen funds should not escape due punishment

A retired employee has his identity verified at a social security fund office in Hefei, Anhui province. The number of Chinese older than 60 accounted for 15.5 percent of the population at the end of 2014. [Photo/China Daily]

More than 600 residents in Zaozhuang, East China's Shandong province, who pay regular subscriptions for the social security fund, recently found that their seven years' contributions had been embezzled by social security official Chen Junquan, who used to collect the subscriptions from them. Chen fled in April and is on the wanted list. Comments:

Reports say Chen was in charge of the entire process of collecting subscriptions, keeping their record and depositing them in the fund account, without any effective supervision. The loophole in the system left enough room for him to embezzle such a big amount. The situation is similar in many social security agencies in the country and it is highly likely that such misappropriation is happening in some other cities. It is high time the authorities did something to prevent the losses of innocent people.

Huaxi Metropolis Daily, Sept 22

Lack of transparency made it possible for the official to embezzle such a big amount from the social security fund. If it was mandatory for the social security center to send every subscriber a letter once a year or every six months giving details of his/her account, could the official cheat them for seven years? Where there is sunshine there is no corruption - we are familiar with this old saying yet the authorities often forget it.

Procuratorial Daily, Sept 23

According to regulations for government agencies, officials handling financial matters or cash must be put under strict disciplinary supervision. In fact, several officials were empowered to supervise Chen: his bureau chief, managers of the bank where the social security fund has its account, and local disciplinary officials. Yet none of them did so. The case shows once again that a delicately designed and well-written law is nothing if no one implements it.

hebnews.cn, Sept 22

Since the social security fund involves old age pension, the fraud is a fatal blow to the reputation of the local government. The judiciary needs to punish the official if he is found guilty to deter potential offenders from laying their greedy hands on public funds.

sohu.com, Sept 22