Official suspended from post over high wages

HANGZHOU - A government official in East China's Zhejiang province was removed from his post on Monday after authorities found that his annual salary was 20 times greater than that of his subordinates.

Shen Jilong, head of the notary office of the city of Tongxiang, was suspended from his post following a further investigation regarding possible violations of wage distribution and financial regulations, the local government said Monday.

An audit showed that his annual wages in 2010 reached 832,200 yuan (about $132,110), while 12 of his office staff earned just 41,700 yuan on average that year.

The audit indicated that expenses related to food, gifts and business tours hit nearly 1 million yuan in 2010.

An investigation conducted by netizens revealed on Wednesday that one of the office's "business tours" was actually a crab dinner for the city's notary association held in the city of Suzhou in neighboring Jiangsu province.

The bill for the dinner totaled 161,000 yuan, according to their investigation.

Zhu Liping, deputy director of the city's justice bureau, was also suspended from her post for neglecting her duties.

Earlier this month, authorities in south China's city of Guangzhou suspended senior urban management official Cai Bin from his post over suspicions that he took large bribes while holding previous positions in the local government.

The suspicions were raised after netizens alleged that Cai's family owned more homes than they could afford on Cai's salary.