BEIJING (AFP) - - Staff at a bank in China's quake zone used relief funds to buy themselves US brand runners, the country's audit office said Friday after probing for instances of aid money going astray.
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A branch of ICBC, the biggest bank in China, in quake-hit Mianyang city bought 56 pairs of Nike runners for its workers, the audit office said in a statement posted on its website
The branch used 28,500 yuan (4,100 dollars) to buy the shoes at the end of May, and faked the receipts to say it had bought raincoats, rubber boots and umbrellas, the report said.
"After the audit investigation revealed this problem, the bank returned the 'special earthquake funds' that were inappropriately used," the report said.
Another investigation by the audit office revealed that in some areas, text messages about the quake were sent en masse, and were suspected of cheating mobile phone users into donating money into bank accounts, the report said.
"According to our investigation, there are some people who already put earthquake donations into the fundraising accounts," the report said.
Those accounts had been frozen, according to the audit office, which did not reveal how much money was involved.
Misappropriation of funds allocated to help in the wake of the 8.0-magnitude earthquake -- which has killed nearly 70,000 and left another 17,500 missing -- is of huge concern in a country where graft is endemic.
Corruption is rampant both in government ranks and throughout society, as the country ploughs through its development boom without a free press or an independent judiciary.
President Hu Jintao has repeatedly warned that corruption is one of the biggest threats to the legitimacy of the ruling Communist Party.
More than six billion dollars in aid from home and abroad has been donated for quake relief and the government has insisted it is doing all it can to ensure the money is spent in the correct manner.
expected.
somehow, the cynical side of me says this was expected...
bad karma...
asspected
Improvement. They are revealing corruption!
Originally posted by the Bear:somehow, the cynical side of me says this was expected...
bad karma...
we'll see how you fare on your deathbed.
i hope one act of god magically only kills those corrupted beasts who are no different from robbers.. robbers of life..
china + vast amounts of donated money = corruption
Originally posted by w.eikaas:Improvement. They are revealing corruption!
Agree!
Originally posted by the Bear:somehow, the cynical side of me says this was expected...
bad karma...
the last time someone mention bad karma kana band from travelling to china.
just for runners?
plain dumb
Originally posted by ayucrazy:china + vast amounts of donated money = corruption
lol..such ignorant racsist remark..
any1 + vast amounts of money= corruption is more like it.
Originally posted by Arapahoe:
the last time someone mention bad karma kana band from travelling to china.
sounds familiar..some stone person right?
such things happen whenever there is a disaster.
Moral of the story ?
Never donate cash. unless u have control of where it goes directly to the administration involved
Just send canned foods. lol. Or ur spare clothes.
Isn't China a superpower, always willing to compete with USA? Don't they have enough funds to save their own kind? Channel their budget from defense to this relief fund won't hurt too much right. Myanmar i understand that they need a lot of help...but China?
USA is a superpower as well and a fully developed one at that and yet when they had their natural disasters recently, much donation came from overseas.
So I really do not understand why can't China accept donations from other countries. Besides Sichuan is a large province and from what the figure appears to be, many people perished in the earthquake.
Furthermore it does not neccessarily mean that if one happens to be a large country, it would not, therefore, need help whatsoever. China may be big, but they have a HUGE population.
Last but not least, donations from other countries could just be a form of political courtesy. Remember, its all about politics, and maybe a little compassion added into the mix.