China's Ministry of Justice on Friday announced that justice departments across the country recorded a 10.9 percent drop in the number of crimes of abusing official posts between 2008 and 2010 compared to figures from 2005 to 2007.

In the same period, the numbers of petitions reporting justice officials' violation of the law, officially investigated cases, and punished officials decreased 7.5 percent, 23.8 percent, and 24.6 percent respectively, the ministry said.

Last year, 696 justice officials received disciplinary punishment from the Party or the government, with 61 officials indicted for criminal offenses.

The ministry said that China's justice system stepped up its anti-corruption efforts last year. As a result, about 93 group visits for justice officials using public funds were canceled or cut down, thereby saving 131 million yuan ( 19.8 million U.S. dollars).

Justice Minister Wu Aiying, has called for greater efforts to crack down on corruption in 2011.