250 officials probed for dereliction of duty in China

China's prosecutorial agencies investigated 250 officials at county level or above in the first half of 2013 on suspicion of crimes relating to dereliction of duty and infringement of rights. Prosecutors across the country investigated 8,048 people suspected of being involved in 5,706 cases, among which 3,272 were serious violations, according to a Supreme People's Procuratorate report on Thursday. A total of 467 suspected duty-related crimes involving serious human error that led to accidents have been dealt with by prosecutors and 706 people were alleged to be involved, the report said. Investigators have focused their work on probing violations by leading officials as well as those who have seriously infringed citizens' rights and interests, the document said.