More than 700 officials probed for breach of duty

BEIJING - More than 700 officials have been under investigation for breach of duty related to workplace accidents in the first half of the year, the supreme procuratorate said Monday.

In the first half, prosecutors started investigating 467 graft cases related to workplace accidents, according to a statement from the procuratorate.

Prosecutors have finished investigating 457 officials implicated in the cases and filed charges against 443 of them, it said.

The supreme procuratorate asked local prosecuting agencies to step up efforts against cases of graft that could be related to workplace accidents.

The agency itself led investigations into three significant cases and supervised another 17 cases.

The three big cases included a coal mine explosion in Northeast China's Jilin province and a workshop explosion in?East China's Shandong province.

The agency's involvement in the cases is part of government efforts to curb corruption and improve workplace safety through judicial means.