Reuters gives an update on 43 officials who have been punished for their role in earthquake relief misconduct, including the dismissal of 12 officials (An earlier report said that 15 officials in Sichuan had been fired):
Most of the complaints “were about misuse of tents in initial disaster relief efforts and the improper distribution of food and other goods,” she told a news conference.
“Others were about officials reacting slowly or issuing aid in a detrimental way,” Ma added.
One of the officials caught was the deputy head of the local assembly in Anyang, a city in the poor central province of Henan, for buying substandard relief goods, she said, adding he had been fired.
Officials not dismissed were given administrative demerits, meaning they were either demoted or had a black mark put against their name limiting future promotions.
Read also “China probes hundreds of quake-fraud complaints” from CBC, which reports on fraudulent behavior in Shaanxi and Shanghai:
In Shaanxi province, Liu Shaoming, the head of a food-processing company, was arrested for allegedly siphoning off grain from aid packages, China’s state news agency Xinhua reported.
He was supposed to deliver thousands of 10-kilogram bags of grain, but his bags were found to be at least one kilogram lighter. Investigators also alleged the grain was adulterated with other substances.
Ten other counties in the area have complained their aid packages are also lighter than they were supposed to be.
