国内英语新闻:Senior Chinese leader urges enhanced supervision of investigators

BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Senior Chinese leader Zhou Yongkang Friday urged increased supervision of police investigations and the reform of the penal system.

Zhou, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks while attending a plenary meeting of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee in Beijing.

Representatives of the Supreme People's Procuratorate reported to the meeting on their work to strengthen supervision on the use of investigative measures such as search, detention and freezing the suspect's asset by law-enforcement officers.

Officials from the Supreme People's Court (SPC) also reported the progress made in a pilot program which intends to help courts at local levels to be more transparent and fair while meting out penalties.

Zhou said these were vital to the building of a just and clean law-enforcement system and must be carefully implemented.

"Investigative and procuratorate authorities must attach equal importance to punishing crimes and safeguarding human rights, and to procedural justice and substantive justice, and must strictly abide by the law in enforcing investigative measures such as search, detention and seizing the suspect's asset," he said.

He said the SPC's pilot program in roughly 120 local courts had promoted the fairness and transparency in handing out penalties, which had significantly reduced the rates of appeal, lodging a protest against a ruling and petition in criminal cases.

Law enforcement agencies must push ahead the pilot program as one of their priorities, while in the meantime working to fully engage the public in the supervision of the handling of criminal cases, he said.

Zhou, who also heads the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, called for more transparent law enforcement to ensure the public's right to know and supervise.

He also said places for interrogation, custody, trial and detention must be under 24-hour audio and video recording.