A corruption crackdown in northern China found that nearly 300 local officials regularly spend working hours relaxing in massage parlours, bathhouses and karaoke bars, state press said Tuesday.

Of the 296 officials busted in Shanxi province, 79 have already been demoted or fired, while the rest also face punishment, Xinhua news agency said.

A senior county-level policeman who was found getting a massage in a bathhouse and a leading administrator of a top Shanxi hospital caught playing the Chinese game of mahjong in a tea house were among those exposed, it said.

The crackdown by the provincial Communist Party began on August 20 with inspectors descending on entertainment venues, the report said.

Massage parlours, bathhouses and karaoke bars often serve as fronts for prostitution in China.

"At present, our team of officials in Shanxi province is basically good, but we still have some problems with the manner in which they work," Xinhua cited Yuan Chunqing, the top provincial party official, as saying.

"The biggest problems come up in their leisure, eating and entertainment activities," he said.

Graft probes in China have regularly turned up cases of Communist Party leaders engaged in illicit activities, often linked to the squandering of public funds on mistresses and prostitutes.

Li Yuanchao, a top national party leader, warned late last year that disciplinary action would be taken against party officials caught visiting "vulgar venues" and hiring female escorts.

link:
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=7961173

note: looks like even the officials gets in trouble too ><

well we have all known this for a while.. not surprising but a bit of a concern for any bros who's gona be punting in those areas..

Shock, horror, corrupt Chinese officials?? No no can't be true.

I hope they never clean up all the corrupt officials. Thats what makes china great with money you can do anything you want even fly planes with fake license and papers

A friend of mine in India once explained how this corruption shit works in a nutshell.

For example, if you want to be a police officer in India you have to pay a LARGE sum of money to make it.

The only way to repay your lenders (family, friends) is by taking bribes and extorting innocent people.

I guess it's not that much different in China. You need a lot of money and effort to become an official and there should be a reward for it. I bet they don't even have to pay for their hookers

Most of the police are ex army. I think that more than anything else is a prerequisite. If you wanted to advance through the ranks you'd no doubt have to keep the right people happy.

well at least they are taking measures in ensuring these corrupt officials are made an example of to others.

can't imagine how many officials there are to manage 1 billion people

I have heard that the custom officers have to pay up front to get the job at the border crossings.

Not sure about China, but in a lot of places corruption is rife because the basic pay is so bad.

Someone told me in Cambodia a policeman can easily double his monthly pay by standing on a street corner for an hour and 'fining' some tourists for petty things (not wearing a helmet, etc...)

If people with some power are not given a reasonable wage, of course they are going to succumb to temptation - because they can!

I believe that is the case in China. While the pay is not good the benefits and bribe $$$ make the jobs very desirable and worth paying the money upfront to obtain the job.

these kind of things are rife in developing asian country, especially the one with a high population count.
working for the army/police usually have small wages due to the number of man in the force itself, with those kind of basic pays it's no wonder they would seek "extras" out of civilians. on top of that, it's also because of the people who's willie to pay for those bribes that they took it as an opportunity, can't blame them really.. i would probably do the same thing if i could get away with it.