The Shanghai Prosecutors' Office investigated 428 cases of corruption last year, director Wu Guanyu said in a report to the Shanghai People's Congress (SPC) yesterday.

Wu didn't say how many people were charged with corruption or punished in any way as a result of the investigations.

In 2004, Wu's office investigated 402 corruption cases.

In a separate report to the SPC, Teng Yilong, director of the Shanghai Higher People's Court, said it ruled on 350 corruption-related cases last year, up from 331 cases in 2004. He also didn't reveal how many people were found guilty.

"We strengthened our investigative power into corruption cases," Wu told more than 800 SPC delegates yesterday.

SPC delegates will break into groups to review the two reports before voting on whether or not to accept them tomorrow.

Wu said his office has improved education from officials, particularly those in charge of major urban projects such as the Yangshan Deep-Water Port, metro lines, airports and railways, to abide by the law.

His office also organized a series of lectures and training courses for prosecutors to hone their skills in dealing with corruption cases.

Wu said 345 of the 428 cases that his office investigated were listed as severe cases of corruption, meaning they involved more than 50,000 yuan (US$6,173) in bribes or 100,000 yuan in embezzlement.

The Shanghai Higher People's Court noted in its report that it heard 120,200 civil cases last year, a 10.1 percent increase from 2004.

(Shanghai Daily January 19, 2006)