Ten county-level court judges in China's Liaoning province are being investigated on suspicion of dereliction of duty and taking bribes with the country's anti-corruption crusade extended to the judiciary.
The 10 judges, from the court in Qingyuan Manchu autonomous county in Fushun, were questioned one after another between May and July, the provincial people's procuratorate said.
Most of them are suspected of accepting bribes, perverting the law, abusing their power and rendering illegal verdicts, state-run China Daily reported.
The 10 judicial officers -- including three deputy presidents, five chief judges, one assistant chief judge and the director of the court's enforcement department -- were reported by residents, the prosecuting authority said
The prosecuting authrity has approved the arrest of five of them and confirmed that one of the deputy presidents is still at large.
Yang Weidong, a law professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance, said it is rare to see 10 judicial officers in a court being investigated at the same time, "which also means self-discipline in the legal system is still far from enough".
Yang Xiaojun, another professor in the academy, echoed similary views, saying the exposure of a number of judicial officers reflects that the central government has highlighted violations in the judicial system.
It is not the first time that judicial officers in the province have been investigated for alleged violations.
In July, authorities confirmed that Li Wei, president of Dalian Intermediate People's Court, was being investigated for alleged serious disciplinary violations.
China's top court issued a five-year plan in July, stating that a verdict must be decided by the presiding judge, rather than being approved or influenced by the chief judge or president of a court.
China has initiated major corruption probes against some top officials in the ruling Communist Party of China, Army and bureaucracy as part of President Xi Jinping's drive to root out graft.
