Public must keep eye on use of taxpayers' money

PENG YINGLONG, an official from Hengyang, Central China's Hunan province, was recently expelled from office for suspected corruption. He reportedly bought almost everything in daily life, from paper diapers of his granddaughter to the wood for his future coffin, using public money. Beijing Youth Daily commented on Tuesday:

Peng is not the only one of his kind. Shao Minghua, a corrupt official from East China's Jiangsu province, purchased all his clothes, shoes and cellphones at the public's expense; another official surnamed Jiang in neighboring Anhui province even asked for a certificate after enjoying illegal sex services in order to pay with public money. He had a dispute with the prostitute and lost his life for that.

These stories about corrupt officials are rather funny and eye-catching. But more importantly, we should learn a lesson from them: How could these officials pay for everything using taxpayers' money? Where is our financial regulation?