国内英语新闻:China arrests over 900 for online gambling crimes

BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese police had cracked 210 online gambling crimes and arrested 918 suspects in the 13 days ending Feb. 20, an official with the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said Wednesday.

Gu Jian, vice director of the bureau of cyber security under the ministry, said the ministry also cracked another 122 less severe cases and punished 351 people in the same period.

He did not provide further details about the cases.

Eight Party departments, government ministries and financial regulatory bodies including the MPS and the People's Bank of China, jointly launched a seven-month-long nationwide campaign to curb online gambling on Feb. 8.

The campaign, according to an earlier statement from the MPS, targets "major and severe cases, and would arrest domestic and foreign groups that organize online gambling and severely punish the offenders."

Online gambling has seriously disturbed social and economic order, and has drawn strong complaints from the public, Gu said.