Shanghai prosecutors reported 446 bribery and corruption cases last year, involving 495 officials.

The number of cases handled in 2006 increased by 44 compared with 2005, the Shanghai People's Prosecutors' Office said yesterday.

Prosecutors also reported 219 commercial bribery cases involving civil servants last year, a 6.8 percent rise from 2005.

In 2006, 83.04 million yuan (US$10.38 million) in illicit cash was recovered.

A newly established system enabling individuals and local companies to inquire into archives of those who have been punished for offering bribes will help crack down on such cases, prosecutors revealed yesterday.

Breakthrough

Set up early last year, the system accepted public applications to inquire into 210 companies and 74 individuals.

"A foreign company came to make inquiries about its distributor, and found it had a record of offering bribes before," said Zou Chuanji, the spokesman for the office. "The company ended the agreement with its distributor soon after that."

Prosecutors said the system had been set up in other cities and will be spread around the country later.

At yesterday's conference, prosecutors released three case details.

These included a first: Prosecutors charged a city official with hiding overseas banking accounts. Prosecutors said they found 3.44 million yuan worth of foreign currency in the overseas accounts of Zhang Weimin, a director with the Jiading branch of Shanghai Tobacco Administration.

They also found 13 million yuan worth of suspect property.

Zhang was charged with taking bribes and embezzlement, and jailed for 20 years late last year, prosecutors said.

(Shanghai Daily January 23, 2007)