Shanghai judges penalized over prostitution

SHANGHAI - Authorities in East China's Shanghai on Tuesday expelled three court officials from the Communist Party of China (CPC) and placed another on probation for allegedly hiring prostitutes.

The municipal discipline commission and the Shanghai Municipal Higher People's Court have also suggested sacking the four officials pending approval from the city's legislature.

The four officials include three judges -- Chen Xueming, Zhao Minghua and Wang Guojun -- and discipline official Ni Zhengwen. All four serve at the Shanghai Municipal Higher People's Court.

They were placed under official scrutiny after a netizen released video footage that appears to show them soliciting prostitutes at the Hengshan Resort in Shanghai on the night of June 9.

Investigators found the four, along with a manager at a state-owned company in Shanghai, spent a night in the resort's nightclub where they allegedly hired prostitutes.

Zhao, Chen and Ni have been expelled from the CPC while Wang was placed under a two-year probation within the Party. The company manager, Guo Xianghua, was also sacked and expelled from the CPC.

Police have placed the five people under administrative detention.