A total of 139,621 corruption-related cases were handled in 2010, an official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said on June 22, 2011.

Disciplinary punishments were given to 146,517 people and 5,373 people were transferred to judicial agencies for criminal proceedings.

Special attention had been paid to embezzlement and bribery by officials, breach of discipline and violation of laws in key areas and sectors, and abuse of power and corruption cases related to serious accidents and mass incidents, the official said.

Earlier in June, the National Audit Office (NAO) said on its website that it would carry out economic accountability audits of secretaries of provincial Party committees in the next five years.

In 2010, China audited 36,900 officials, and found some of the audited officials were directly liable for the misuse of 24.9 billion yuan (3.83 billion U.S. dollars).

In mid-June, inspired by an Indian anti-bribery website ipaidabribe.com, eight bribery-reporting websites began operation in China, allowing Internet users to share their experiences in giving bribes though shying away from revealing corrupt figures.