China has penalized 43 officials for misconduct involving relief in quake-hit regions, the country's minister of supervision told a press conference in Beijing on Monday.

"Party disciplinary measures and administrative sanctions have been imposed on them," said Ma Wen, also National Bureau of Corruption Prevention (NBCP) head.

Among them, Ma said 12 serious offenders were removed from their posts.

By June 20, the country had received 1,178 public complaints about official misdeeds.

"Among these cases, 1,007 have been probed and resolved," she said, noting most of the cases were about improper distribution of tents and food, and the rest about slow or inefficient official responses.

Also at the press conference, Jiang Li, Civil Affairs vice minister, said the ministry had taken measures to prevent donations from being misused.

"We have required those dealing with donations to keep a clear record of all donations," he said. "All those people handling donations and all beneficiaries of donations must make registry with their real names."

To ensure the transparent administration of donations, the ministry also timely publicized the information of donation acceptance and distribution on its website.

In the meantime, donated funds will first be used to improve people's living conditions, such as in reconstructing homes for those whose house collapsed in the quake, and to provide subsidies to impoverished people, Jiang added.

As of Monday noon, domestic and foreign donations had reached 52.48 billion yuan (US$7.63 billion) in cash and goods, of which 17.91 billion yuan had been forwarded to the quake-hit areas.

(Xinhua News Agency June 24, 2008)