Chinese officials turning over bribes

BEIJING, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Recalcitrant Chinese officials have been handing over their bribe money to the government at an impressive clip in recent years.

The Communist Party’s disciplinary watchdogs said Saturday that 140,660 officials to be exact had voluntarily turned over cash, securities and other forms of graft during the past five years.

During the same period, nearly 6,900 officials were punished for accepting bribes while another 16,411 were busted for gambling, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.

Xinhua noted that China was on a campaign to curb corruption this year. Government officials on the take had until the end of June to confess their sins in return for leniency.