China has controlled the powerful rat poison Dushuqiang, which was once widely used but has been banned as too toxic for general use, according to a government report submitted to China's top legislature on Monday.

The numbers of accidents, victims and deaths involving Dushuqiang in this third quarter respectively decreased by 80 percent, 96.6 percent and 74.2 percent, respectively, says the report from the State Council.

Though it has been banned since the mid-1990's, scores of people are believed to have been killed in China in recent years in accidents or murders involving Dushuqiang.

Chinese authorities launched a nationwide crackdown on the poison, threatening prison terms and death sentences for people who make or sell it.

During the campaign, Chinese authorities have destroyed 41 factories in three major centers distributing production technology, capturing more than 200 tons of Dushuqiang, according to the report.

Meanwhile, some government departments repeatedly publicized the punishment for people using the poison, especially in rural areas where it was once widely available.

This year alone, about 1.18 million paper notices were distributed to villages across the country, says the report.

The report also says that the central government is promoting the use of safer rat poison.

Source: Xinhua