More Chinese government officials suspected of committing graft and corruption are taking their lives, the Communist Party of China (CPC) said on Tuesday.

On Sunday, two civil servants suspected of embezzling government funds committed suicide.

Chinese state-run media reported that Liu Xiaohua, a high-ranking official in the Guangzhou province, hanged himself in his home on Sunday, days after learning that he was set to be interrogated by the party for corruption.

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On the same day, Xiao Bibo, the head of the secret protection bureau of the Yantian district, committed suicide by jumping to her death from a bridge in the northeastern part of the district.

Motives

Although police are still investigating the motives behind the suicides, the communist party has started to look into the rising cases of suicide among government officials accused of corruption since last year.

According to an editorial published recently by the Chinese official paper, Guangming Daily, under the presidency of Hu Jintao, there was only 68 cases of suicide in a span of nine years, from 2003 and 2012.

However, under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, who has stepped up China's anti-corruption campaign, suicide cases have risen tremendously among government officials suspected of graft.

In the first two years of Xi's presidency, up to 77 government officials accused of corruption reportedly killed themselves.

Anti-corruption campaign

Experts have noted that President Xi's far-reaching anti-corruption campaign has spared no one in government including people in the military and state-owned companies and industries.

Human rights lawyer Yuan Yulai said it was not surprising that the suspected officials took their lives even before they could be interrogated by the communist party's corruption watchdog.

The interrogation, known as shuanggui, has been described as 'dark' as suspects are held incommunicado for an undetermined duration of time before they are turned over to the prosecutors to be formally charged.

"Being hardline and suppressive of ordinary people, some officials found themselves, in turn, subject to the same treatment when they faced fellow officials with higher ranking," Yuan said.

A large number of officials suspected of graft had opted for suicide in a bid to protect their families and kin from being subjected to intense scrutiny by investigators and prosecutors.

Under the law, it is only a court judge and not the CCDI who determines whether a suspect is guilty.

Yuan said that if the accused dies before or during the trial, all judicial proceedings against the suspect are stopped, and the case, as well as the accompanying investigation, is terminated.

TagsCommunist Party of China, graft and corruption, embezzlement, government officials, Suicide, anti-corruption campaign, President Xi Jinping, china