Chinese official's son got salary despite not working

An official in China's Henan province has been suspended after it came to light that his son was drawing a salary from his department even though he was not working there, said authorities Wednesday.

Zhao Shuqi, director of the river management department of the water conservancy bureau of Yexian county, was suspended after it became known that his son Zhao Zihang has been receiving a salary from the department since 2007, despite the fact that he doesn't actually work there.

An anonymous tipster revealed that Zhao Zihang, who was born in March 1992, has been receiving a monthly salary of 1,200 yuan ($208) from the department since March 2007, when he was just 15, reported Xinhua.

The tipster also revealed that 10 of the department's 69 staffers were under the age of 18 when they started showing up on the department's payroll.

It is not clear how the employees were recruited, as they were too young to be hired at the time they started receiving their salaries.