Premier Wen Jiabao said in his annual work report this month that corruption poses the biggest threat to the country and, to wipe out the root cause of graft, the nation should pursue institutional reform.

Besides the expected reform, reshuffling government agencies and Party commissions is also foreseeable in 2012, when incumbents end their terms.

Central and local commissions for discipline inspection in China handed out discipline punishments on 146,517 Party members and forwarded 5,373 people to judiciary proceedings in 2010 - "rising, to some extent, from last year", according to official figures.

A publicity official with the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection refused to release any information related to Su's case to China Daily on Thursday.

Su made his last public appearance at a forum in Beijing on March 16, and he has not returned to work since the investigation began, ministry officials said.

Once made public, the Party inspection procedure would likely be followed with judicial proceedings.

By publication time, the introduction of "chief engineer" Su Jinsheng was still on the ministry's website.

Su was assigned to his current post in April 2009.

Before that, he was director of the telecommunication management bureau of the ministry from July 2008.

He also held senior administrative and Party roles in telecommunication authorities and in China Mobile.