40 under probe for taking gifts

Authorities in Jiangning district, Nanjing, have placed about 40 government officials under investigation for allegedly accepting gifts worth 145,000 yuan ($21,000) from a local toy company during the last Spring Festival, a government official said yesterday.

A gift list, which includes the names of the accused officials, was discovered by accident last week when suppliers of the now defunct Jiashide Toy Products stormed the firm's Nanjing office to demand more than 400,000 yuan the company owed them, the Nanjing-based newspaper Modern Express reported on Sunday.

"We have begun investigating all the officials on the list. We will also send our officials to the company to conduct an inquiry," an official with the discipline inspection commission of the Party's Jiangning committee said.