Police investigating seven people accused of rigging Xi'an apartment lottery

Seven people accused of rigging a lottery to help buyers with government connections land apartments in a new residential complex in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, have been placed under criminal investigation.

The suspects work at either Xi'an Tianlei Property Co, which is building the project, or the technology company in Wuhan, Hubei province, responsible for running the lottery system, the city government said on Saturday.

They allegedly manipulated the computerized system to ensure certain people won apartments, according to the results of an official probe launched after a screenshot of a confidential spreadsheet listing the "backdoor clients" went viral online.