BEIJING, Feb. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China (CPC) punished 115,143 members, accounting for 1.7 per thousand of the party total, last year, according to the commission's work report released here Monday.

    Of those who were punished by the Party, 15,177 were handed over to judicial departments for suspected involvement in criminal activities, said Wu Guanzheng, secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

    In the report, Wu disclosed that last year disciplinary panels at different levels dealt with 147,539 cases involving CPC members who violated Party rules, closed 148,931 cases, and expelled 24,188 members from the Party.

    Disciplined Party members received various kinds of punishments, including warnings (44,836), serious warnings (32,289), deprivation of Party position (3,173), and suspension of Party membership pending further investigation (10,657).

    In the report, the Party's disciplinary panels urged their members to carry out their jobs in accordance with the law. Enditem