Line puts justice just one phone call away

China has rung in changes to its many telephone hotlines to make it easier and potentially more lucrative for people to raise the alarm about corrupt officials.

Numerous phone numbers available to whistle-blowers wanting to report possible crimes to the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) and several local provincial procuratorates now have been rolled into one corruption-busting number: 12309.

People are being encouraged to use the new number to report bribery, dereliction of duty, unlawful detention, unlawful searches and the illegal coercion of suspects.