Probes into counterfeit marriage papers conclude

Investigations into separate incidents involving counterfeit marriage certificates in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region have concluded, and the findings are expected to be released to the public as soon as Friday, a Xinjiang civil affairs department official said on Thursday.

"The two investigation teams we sent to Korla city and Manas county have returned, and results of the investigations will be disclosed later," said Zhang Yang, deputy director of the publicity office with the autonomous region's civil affairs department.

The local government issued a public apology on its website on Monday. Ren Siqiang, former director of Korla Civil Affairs Bureau and current director of the city's health bureau, and Li Zhilong, head of the bureau's social affairs office, were dismissed from their posts on Tuesday.