China has sentenced 230 health workers on charges of commercial bribery and punished 266 others with Party or political disciplines during a nationwide crackdown on health corruption.

A total of 790 cases were investigated by the health, supervision and commercial and industrial authorities during August 2005 and July 2006, which involved 57 million yuan (7.1 million U.S. dollars).

The authorities have cracked 398 cases, 89.9 percent of which involved purchases of drug and medical equipment and materials, according to a report released by the Ministry of Health on Friday.

The people involved in commercial bribery included local health officials, leaders of medical institutions and centers for disease control and prevention.

Most of the money involved was related to public bidding of drug purchases and maintenance contracts for medical facilities, the report said.

The ministry also revealed five serious cases with the longest sentence up to 12.5 years in prison. The punishments should be taken as a warning and alarm by health workers, it said.

Source: Xinhua