Top police officer in Xinjiang probed

Prosecutors launched an investigation into a top police officer in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region for suspected abuse of power and graft, the Supreme People's Procuratorate said on Monday.

Li Yanming, former vice-president of Xinjiang Police College and a member of the top decision-making body of the police force in the autonomous region, was "placed under compulsory measures", the SPP said in a statement.

According to China's Criminal Procedure Law, compulsory measures include summons by force, bail, residential surveillance, detention and arrest, which can usually lead to formal charges.

Li has been expelled from the Party and dismissed from public office, the Xinjiang governmental information office said on Sunday. The regional anti-graft watchdog said Li was suspected of taking advantage of his power to help others make profits and taking a large amount of bribes in return.

Xinjiang has stepped up efforts to punish officials who violate Party discipline, introducing a series of measures to prevent abuse of power.

Anti-graft agencies across the region investigated 1,770 cases from January to October, nearly double year-on-year, said a statement from a regional coordination meeting of the anti-graft work in late November.

Departments have intensified anti-corruption work this year, especially among Party members and government officials. Nearly 1,500 officials were disciplined by the Party, and 72 were transferred to law enforcement agencies, the statement said.

On Oct 27, Wang Xinzhong, former Party chief of the discipline inspection committee of the Xinjiang Justice Department, was charged with taking bribes.

Xinhua and Gao Bo contributed to this story.