BEIJING, June 16 -- China's procuratorial agencies have investigated or prosecuted more than 2,163 officials for environment-related crimes over the past 16 months, authorities announced on Tuesday.
The officials were suspected of bribery or dereliction of duty regarding environmental issues and accidents, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) spokesperson Xiao Wei said at a press briefing.
From January 2014 to the end of April 2015, procuratorates at all levels arrested 10,084 and prosecuted 28,707 people suspected of damaging the environment and resources, such as polluting the environment, illegal mining and stealing timber, said Xiao.
The SPP will launch a two-year campaign to supervise law enforcement authorities' handling of environment violation cases, preventing possible corruption or duty dereliction while they are handling environment violation cases, Xiao added.
She noted some authorities have not transferred such cases to prosecuting organs as the law stipulated or just turn a blind eye to the violations.
The SPP will also focus on cracking down on duty-related crimes in areas related to major ecological restoration projects, mining resources, environment assessment and pollution treatment, she said.
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