Corruption remained the main offense by civil servants, as most of the 43,757 officials investigated last year took bribes or public funds, Chief Prosecutor Jia Chunwang told the annual session of parliament.

Of those investigated, 35,031 took part in crimes involving corruption, bribe-taking and embezzlement of public funds, while 8,726 were probed for dereliction of duties and abuse of power, Jia said.

Not all of those were prosecuted last year.

About 555 million US dollars stolen from public coffers was retrieved, Jia said in his annual report, without giving the total amount embezzled.

Those targetted for corruption investigations included officials in charge of road construction, urban reconstruction and land requisitions which have led to large protests and deep public discontent.