Chinese prosecutors indict 19,000 for duty-related crimes in 2021

BEIJING - China's procuratorial organs prosecuted 19,000 suspects involving duty-related crimes in 2021, up 11.2 percent year-on-year.

The figure was unveiled at a national conference of procurator-generals held by the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) on Monday, showing China's consistent crackdown on corruption.

The SPP also provided some other facts and figures, as follows, highlighting the country's progress in procuratorial work over the past year.

-- A total of 21,000 people were charged with organized-crime activities in 2021, the first year of a campaign to combat organized and gang-related crimes on a regular basis.

-- Over 280,000 people were prosecuted over crimes committed by means of telecommunications and the internet, almost doubling the number of the previous year.

-- Procuratorial organs filed lawsuits against 49,000 suspects over criminal cases involving the ecological environment and natural resources, and handled 88,000 public interest litigations in this field.

-- Over 1,200 people were indicted on money-laundering charges.

-- Procuratorial agencies across the country received 895,000 petition letters from the public in 2021, of which over 98 percent received feedback within three months.

-- More than 612 million yuan ($96 million) of judicial relief was granted to 47,500 people with financial difficulties, registering an increase of 47 percent and nearly 50 percent, respectively.

At the Monday conference, Zhang Jun, procurator-general of the SPP, asked procuratorial organs to have both the courage and competence to fulfill their duty of oversight, thus improving the quality and efficacy of legal supervision.