Two officials in charge of quality control in central China's Henan Province have been placed under investigation on suspicion of bribery, according to sources close to the provincial anti-graft authority.

Bao Jianmin, a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC) and chief of the Henan Provincial Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision, is being investigated by the Provincial Commission for Disciplinary Inspection (PCDI), the anti-graft watchdog, a source close to the commission revealed on condition of anonymity.

The source also claimed that Bao's assistant, Chen Xuesheng, has been handed over to judicial departments for criminal prosecution.

Chen, who became deputy chief of the bureau in 2001, is accused of accepting bribes totaling more than 400,000 yuan (US$51,282), according to a PCDI statement.

In 2003, he allegedly received a 200,000 yuan (US$25,641) of cash bribe from Wu Hongquan, a business tycoon based in the city of Zhoukou. In return, he helped Wu's company win a deal to operate one of the most profitable hotels in the provincial capital of Zhengzhou. Wu is also under investigation.

Chen was also reported to have accepted bribes in 2005 for promoting a Zhoukou quality control official to a well-paid job in the provincial capital.

Chen's boss, Bao Jianmin is suspected of involvement in both cases and, before the investigation was launched, several staff members of the bureau had voiced their suspicions to the anti-graft watchdog.

The watchdog is yet to find out the full amount of bribes Bao has taken. He is yet to be suspended from his position with the NPC.