Altogether 9,378 officials were penalized in China between 2003 and 2006 for violating rules in the recruitment, promotion and management of personnel, an official in charge of organization and personnel work with the Communist Party of China (CPC) said on Wednesday.

The figure was revealed by Ouyang Song, deputy head of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, while reviewing the CPC's developments in organization work during the ongoing 17th Party Congress.

He did not elaborate on the cases, which often involve corruption and under-the-table deals to buy off promotions and recruit people with special connections.

"We have continuously enhanced supervision of officials in a more innovative way," Ouyang said at a press briefing, citing a widely-accepted practice for officials to submit self evaluation reports on routine basis, an effort to check corruption, and stricter auditing work to make sure the officials are not making undeserved money.

(Xinhua News Agency October 18, 2007)