At least 71 local officials were punished for dereliction of duty during the past year, according to a report to be submitted to the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress (MPC) today.

The report, approved by the municipal government in early September, said seven among the 71 were bureau directors, and eight others were department heads.

Twenty-eight officials were handed over to the public security inspectorates for further investigation, while the other 43 were ordered to write letters of self-criticism, cited for criticism in an official dispatch or transferred from their positions.

"We had investigated over 120 cases until July, and the major problems involved are found in audit supervision, illegal construction, embezzlement, bad conduct in public crises and corruption," said a spokesman for the municipal supervisory bureau.

Over 32 million yuan (US$4 million) was seized in 81 corruption cases.

Some officials were also punished for delaying the announcement of a suspected case of pig streptococci disease that erupted in a local farm, and two cases of assisting farm owners to claim an extra 14.65 million yuan in compensation from the government.

The action was part of the municipal government's accountability campaign introduced last year. Li Hongzhong, secretary of the municipal committee of the CPC, launched the campaign at a conference last September, together with a campaign to punish underperforming officials.

A regulation constituted for the two campaigns lists and defines 108 misdemeanors that relate to officials' dereliction of duty and those who violate the regulation could face a demotion or be sacked.

"Officials should not take action until they received instructions from higher-level leaders," Li said. "Staying at ones' position, they should act automatically like a clock with the spring."

Editor: Yan