Three prefecture-level officials from Guangzhou's major media have been investigated and dismissed from their posts in Guangdong's provincial capital in the first eight months of this year.

The disclosure came from Zhu Zhenzhong, secretary of Guangzhou's Municipal Commission for Inspecting Discipline of the Communist Party of China, at a working conference yesterday in Guangzhou.

The three senior media officials include Zhang Suihua, deputy editor-in-chief of Guangzhou Daily Group, Ouyang Guinan, deputy Party secretary of Guangzhou Television and director of Guangzhou Cable Television, and Tao Jianjun, deputy director of Guangzhou Television.

Ouyang Guinan was suspected of accepting bribes valued at 280,000 yuan (US$33,734) when he granted an interior decoration project to a contractor at his office building in July and August of 1999.

Zhang and Tao were also suspected to have taken large bribes when they were in office.

Zhu's commission has investigated and dismissed a total of 14 prefecture-level Party and government officials, including Zhang, Ouyang and Tao, in the first eight months of this year.

Others include Xiao Ping, vice president of Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court; Tong Jianjun, vice director of Guangzhou's Huangpu District; Lu Jianfen, deputy director of the Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Agriculture; Hu Xianwen, director of Research Centre under Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Urban Planning; Lin Weihui, director of Guangzhou Municipal Land Resource Development Centre; Gan Zewen, deputy general manager of Guangzhou Branch of Guangdong Mobile Communication Company; Liang Yuxin, deputy general manager of Guangzhou Expressway Company; and, Liu Wenying, deputy Party secretary and general manager of Huanan Computer Co Ltd.

All the officials were suspected of accepting bribes, of paying women for sex and misappropriating public funds, Zhu said.

Zhu said his commission has handled 174 corruption cases involving 223 officials in the first eight months this year.

Of the suspects, 53 were at least county-level officials. That total is up 6 per cent from the corresponding months in the previous year.

And 99 of the cases Zhu's commission investigated are economic cases that involved more than 10,000 yuan (US$1,200) each.

Economic losses worth more than 77.8 million yuan (US$9.37 million) have been retrieved through investigation of the cases between January and August of this year.

In another development, Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court yesterday opened a public hearing on Ouyang Wenbin, secretary of a deputy director-general of Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Public Security.

Ouyang, 35, is suspected of accepting bribes valued at more than 1.12 million yuan (US$134,939.76) plus US$38,000, as well as two expensive imported watches between November of 1998 and February of 2001.

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