12 provincial-level officials punished by discipline watchdogs in Q1

BEIJING, April 24 (Xinhua) -- In the first quarter of this year, a total of 121,000 Chinese officials, including 12 at the provincial or ministerial level, have been punished for disciplinary violations or misconduct, the country's top anti-graft body announced Wednesday.

Over this period, discipline inspection and supervisory agencies across China initiated investigations into 149,000 cases of suspected violations, including those involving 16 provincial or ministerial-level officials, according to a statement released by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China and the National Commission of Supervision.

In the first three months of the year, discipline inspection and supervisory authorities nationwide received more than 800,000 complaints and tip-offs, and dealt with over 400,000 pieces of evidence with violation implications, the statement said.