Society

Govt neglect led to hundreds deaths in Yunnan

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-01-08 16:56

Procuratorate officials visit an exhibition on government misconducts as parts of an anti-corruption campaign in Kunming, capital of Southwest China's Yunnan province, on Friday Jan 7, 2011. [Photo/Xinhua]

KUNMING - Official misconducts have resulted in more than 600 deaths in Southwest China's Yunnan province over the past seven years, according to local prosecution agency.

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Inappropriate behavior by officials led to at least 622 human deaths and 91 others suffered serious injuries in a number of incidents from 2004 to 2010, according to figures disclosed at an ongoing exhibition held by the People's Procuratorate of Yunnan.

Official misconducts during the seven year period also resulted in more than 843 million yuan ($127 million) in economic losses.

In 2010 alone, at least 304 cases of dereliction of duty, with 332 officials involved, were investigated.

Among the convicted officials was Ao Chengbi, former director of a county-level coal mine bureau in Qujing City. He approved the operation of a substandard coal mine which was rocked by a gas blast in November 2006 killing 32 miners and injuring 35 others.

Another case on display was the infamous "hide-and-seek" case, in which a detention center said 24-year-old inmate Li Qiaoming had died while "playing the game" in February 2009. However, a public outcry forced the government to launch an investigation, which concluded Li was beaten to death by three other inmates.

The exhibition also highlighted the case of 12 Yuxi city officials, including a vice mayor, who were fired for failing to properly monitor a chemical company's waste discharge. The firm polluted a lake with arsenic which resulted in a suspension of drinking water supply to 26,000 people in 2008.

The exhibition opened Friday and is expected to run till late January.