7 officials charged in nightclub fire case

SHENZHEN: Three police officers and four other government employees have been charged with taking bribes and dereliction of duty in a nightclub fire case in which 44 people were killed on Sept 20.

Prosecutors yesterday said investigators found that Chen Xuming, deputy police chief of Shenzhen's Longgang district, had taken 60,000 yuan ($8,759) in bribe from Wang Jing, one of the nightclub's owners.

Earlier media reports said Chen had stashed 10 million yuan in cash at home and that his total assets amounted to about 100 million yuan.