BEIJING, July 9 -- Some 1,968 officials in Central China's Hunan Province were found to have breached the nation's family planning policy between 2000 and 2005, the provincial family planning commission said yesterday.

Also exposed by the commission over the period were 21 national and local lawmakers, 24 political advisers, 112 entrepreneurs and six senior intellectuals.

A national lawmaker, identified only by his surname Li, was found to have had four mistresses, with whom he had four children, a spokesman for the commission said.

Several officials who had more than one child went unnoticed during their tenures, but were later exposed while being investigated for corruption, he said.

"Three officials - the vice-head of the Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Xiangxi, with the surname Peng; the vice-mayor of Loudi, surnamed Zhao; and the vice-mayor of Chenzhou, with the surname Lei - were all found to have kept mistresses but were actually convicted on charges such as embezzlement and taking bribes," he said.

China has had a strict family planning policy in place since the late 1970s. Under the policy, most urban couples are forbidden to have more than one child. It is estimated the policy has prevented millions of births over the years.

However, there have been increasing reports of officials, tycoons and entertainment stars having more than one child, causing public concern.

"The fact some localities fail to hand out penalties when people violate the policy is one of the main reasons for the trend," the spokesman said.

(Source: China Daily/Xinhua)