Police suspended for shielding gangsters

CHONGQING - Two police officers in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality were accused of protecting underworld gangsters engaged in prostitution and drug offenses at the local Hilton Hotel, the Oriental Morning Post reported on Thursday.

The officers were allegedly the latest members of the police to be involved in mafia activities since a massive crackdown on gangs in the city last year, which implicated 159 officials, including former deputy police chief Wen Qiang, who was sentenced to death in April.

Both officers, whose names were not given, were from the public security bureau in Yuzhong district, the report said.