'Smiling official' sacked, probed

A provincial bureau director in Shaanxi province has been dismissed from his post and is being further investigated, the local Party disciplinary watchdog said on Friday.

Yang Dacai, director of Shaanxi's Provincial Administration Bureau for Work Safety, made headlines last month when a photograph of him smiling was taken at the scene of an Aug 26 traffic accident that killed 36 people.

The Disciplinary Committee of the Communist Party of Shaanxi province on Friday announced its decision to dismiss Yang after an investigation found that he seriously violated the Party's discipline rules.