Air quality data faked; officials punished

The officials responsible for deliberately manipulating data collected from nine air quality monitoring stations by using a spray of water have been severely punished, according to the country's top environmental authority.

Some of the officials were removed from their posts or demoted, while others were given warnings or demerits on their records, Liu Youbin, spokesman for the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said on Thursday.

Liu, speaking at a news conference, did not disclose the number of officials who were punished but said the cases happened in seven cities in six provincial regions in December and January.