A total of 1,763 Chinese policemen were investigated and prosecuted for allegedly violating laws and regulations in 2003, a police watchdog said Friday.

The supervision departments of the police at all levels handled 101,000 complaints against officers last year, a conference of the Ministry of Public Security was told Friday.

The ministry said China had fired 387 policemen since early 2003, when it instituted a new code of conduct, which explicitly forbade gambling, drinking on duty, drink-driving, carrying guns off duty, and carrying guns while under the influence of alcohol.

Violators of the conduct code, or "Five Prohibitions", face harsh penalties, including dismissal and expulsion from the police force.

China has 1.7 million policemen, and nearly 5,000 have been killed on duty in the past five years.

(Xinhua News Agency February 13, 2004)