Twelve female officials from government or state-owned enterprises in Beijing have been found to siphon huge amounts of state funds or take bribes that could run into millions of yuan for an unusual purpose - high-end and exotic beauty treatments at luxurious parlors.

Tony herbal drinks, wraps, body sculpting and skin treatments usually reserved for the wealthy were all consumed with gusto, Beijing-based Procuratorial Daily reported yesterday.

While there were few details on the amounts involved, the investigation started following the downfall of Bai Hong, a former labor union leader with the Beijing Health Bureau.

It is estimated that between July 2006 and March 2011, Bai embezzled 3.39 million yuan (US$544,095) used for beauty.

Beijing prosecutors have finished investigation of the 12 beauty-seeking officials as well as a probe into a former deputy of a construction group, who they say implicated himself by embezzling government money to support his lover's treatments at a beauty parlor. Further actions, including prosecution, against the suspects is expected soon.

Prosecutors said many of the suspects are in their 40s and 50s and obsessed with improving their looks - some of them are estimated to have been to high-end parlors hundreds of times.

They said the "beauty corruption" suspects may have felt safe because the close-door membership services would face less oversight.

After a tip in 2011, Bai, in charge of the union's finance and accounting, was found to have handed over large amounts of invoices, mainly issued by four companies as fees for meetings, training and office supplies related to union activities - while the real expenses were for beauty services.

Prosecutors found the four companies were all founded by a local women's club management group, the paper said.

The group also runs five chain high-end beauty parlors in downtown Beijing, which facilitated the invoices.

Bai was sentenced to 15 years behind bars on December 20, 2011. She didn't appeal to a higher court, the paper said.

One of the 12 women investigated, Yang Ping, a former section chief with Beijing Finance Bureau, was found between 2004 and 2008 to ask others to send her member cards worth a total of 389,000 yuan to support her consumption in the parlors, prosecutors said.

She also handed in invoices valued at 169,000 yuan to the bureau and took the reimbursed money, the paper said.

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