Chinese auditor eats, drinks himself to death


Chinese auditor eats, drinks himself to death
Thursday Aug 24 13:51 AEST
China has told its auditors to behave after one of their number ate and drank
himself to death at the expense of the government department he was
investigating, state media reported overnight.

The National Audit Office issued a notice urging all its staff to "draw a
lesson" after 25-year-old Zhang Hongtao died while inspecting Yanshan County
Electricity Bureau in north China's Hebei province, Xinhua news agency said.

Earlier reports said that Zhang and his colleagues had repeatedly attended
banquets organized by the bureau this year, and that after one of them he
vomited and died.

"The incident has negatively influenced the image of audit offices and
auditors," said the notice from the National Audit Office. "Auditors who violate
discipline must be severely punished."

The incident is believed to be extra embarrassing as the office, under the
leadership of "iron-face auditor" Li Jinhua, has earned a reputation as a major
force in the war on graft.

Li has been praised for courage in pursuing misconduct even at big government
agencies such as the Ministry of Science and Technology, and state TV named him
one of the ten most influential people in economic matters in 2004.

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