China intensifies crackdown on officials ‘recreating during work hours’

BEIJING - A northern Chinese province has intensified the crackdown on officials visiting bathhouses, karaoke bars and other places of entertainment during work hours, threatening to take strict action if found guilty.

According to Xinhua, Shanxi Province launched a campaign on August 20, in which around 296 officials were caught.

Among them, 79 had been sacked or punished, and the rest will face punishments later, according to Shanxi’s discipline inspection authority. Among the sacked officials include a senior county-level policeman who was caught getting a massage in a bathhouse during work hours.

Meanwhile, the Shanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China have threatened its Party officials with sacking if found guilty of playing cards, chess or computer games, or going to teahouses, bathhouses, or karaoke bars for leisure during work hours, or seeking benefits from others by taking advantage of their posts. (ANI)