Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, January 16, 2004
China sacks 387 policemen for misconduct in 2003
China has fired 387 policemen since early 2003, when the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) instituted its new conduct code, a deputy police chief announced here Thursday.
China has fired 387 policemen since early 2003, when the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) instituted its new conduct code, a deputy police chief announced Thursday.
Meanwhile, 988 policemen have been investigated and prosecuted and 561 police cadres have received disciplinary penalties across the country.
These policemen were punished for breaking the "Five Prohibitions", which were introduced last January to clean up the Chinese police force, said Tian Qiyu, vice-minister of the MPS, at a national teleconference calling on all China's public security departments to strictly and earnestly implement the conduct code in the new year.
The rules explicitly forbid such behaviors as gambling, drinking on duty, drunk driving, carrying guns off duty, and carrying guns while drunk.
Violators of the "Five Prohibitions" will face harsh penalties, including dismissal and expulsion from the police force.
In the past year, China's public safety bodies at all levels dispatched more than 20,000 inspection teams around the country to check up on police stations and publicize the campaign, Tian said. "The introduction and implementation of the 'Five Prohibitions' has purified the Chinese police force and improved its efficiency, which in turn ensured the stability and safety of the society and the state," said Tian.
He urged all the country's public security bodies to make greater efforts to implement the "Five Prohibitions" and to resolutely investigate and punish violators before the Spring Festival, China's lunar new year, which falls on Jan. 22.
Official statistics show China now has 1.7 million policemen, much fewer than developed countries, and nearly 5,000 have died on duty in the past five years.