Intensified efforts against graft and malfeasance have led to more officials being investigated in the first five months this year, according to China's top prosecutorial authority.

Chen Lianfu, a senior official with the Supreme People's Procuratorate, said the procuratorate investigated 3,470 officials for alleged corruption and negligence in the first five months of 2007, up 9.5 percent year-on-year.

Altogether 2,808 cases concerning officials were handled in the first five months, 8.3 percent more than the same period last year.

Of the people investigated, 128 were officials above county-level.

Priority was given to investigating officials in connection with abuse of power, commercial bribery and power-for-money conduct in areas such as food and drug safety, sanitation, and damage to land resources and environment, according to Chen.

The procuratorate also made special efforts to investigate major work safety accident cases -- 259 such cases, involving the deaths of 1,226 people and economic losses of 113.6 million yuan (US$14.85 million), were investigated in the first quarter.

The procuratorate also investigated more than 800 law-enforcement agents for abuse of power such as illegal detention, torturing of detainees or lax enforcement of laws.

(Xinhua News Agency June 20, 2007)