THE Party’s disciplinary watchdog announced Tuesday the expulsion of six officials from the Party and public office for “serious violations of discipline and law.”

    According to a statement from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), all six officials are local graft-busters tasked with investigating corruption.

    In one case, Luo Weiguo, former head of the discipline inspection unit of the Department of Land and Resources in Guangxi, was found to have facilitated others in acquiring land projects. He received more than 16.82 million yuan (US$2.72 million) in bribes.

    Luo was also found to have committed adultery. As a retired official, he was expelled from the Party and stripped of his retirement benefits, according to the statement.

    In another case, Yang Xiaocheng, a former Beijing disciplinary official, was found to have taken bribes and sought profits for his mistress. Yang was expelled from the Party and dismissed from public office.

    The other four former discipline inspectors were Xu Jinhua from Jiangxi Province, Jin Liang from Hunan Province, Zheng Qiliang from Shandong Province and Gao Hongming from Jiangsu Province. They are accused of graft, embezzlement and abuse of power.

    Five of them have been transferred to judicial organs for suspected violation of law and Gao was sentenced to five years in prison last December, the statement said.

    In a separate development, five other officials have been prosecuted or probed for bribe-taking, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate said yesterday.

    Local prosecutors have filed lawsuits against Hu Guochu, former director of the Hengyang Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee, Zuo Huiling and Liao Jie-sheng, former deputy directors of the standing committee, for suspected dereliction of duty and bribe-taking.

    A local court in Guangdong Province has filed a lawsuit against Cui Renquan, former head of the Guangzhou Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, for suspected abuse of power and bribe-taking.

    Prosecutors in Xinjiang have investigated and taken “coercive measures” against Peng Zhenhua, former deputy director of the region’s afforestation committee, for suspected bribe-taking.

    Earlier this year, the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee also publicized 10 cases of disciplinary violations by police officers, judges and prosecutors. (Xinhua)