Opinion | Corruption crackdown must include reform of China's oft-abused parole system

As the mainland leadership vows to curb rampant corruption, hardly a day goes by without announcements that officials have been sacked and placed under investigation for graft or given lengthy sentences with many ending up jailed for life.

Many mainlanders may remain sceptical about the effect of the anti-corruption campaign which is merely aimed at tackling the symptoms of the disease rather than undertaking drastic reforms to root out the causes by curbing power and improving accountability and transparency.

But at least they can take comfort in the fact that corrupt officials convicted of embezzling tens of millions of yuan and living a decadent life will rot in jail for a long time.

Well, that is what they think will happen. In reality, because of legal loopholes and a corrupt prison system, most convicted corrupt officials usually get out after serving a fraction of their jail time. Some even go straight home after their trial.

One example is the case of Lin Chongzhong, a former deputy mayor of Jiangmen, in Guangdong. He was convicted of corruption and jailed for 10 years in 2009, but he reportedly went straight home on the day of his trial. His relatives managed to bribe the doctors and prison warden with more than 100,000 yuan (HK$127,000) and Lin was released on medical parole with a fake medical certificate saying he suffered from high blood pressure.

During his so-called parole, Lin reportedly kept a high profile and remained active, being entertained in nightclubs and at banquets without showing any sign of suffering from high blood pressure. In 2010, he was sent back to another prison to serve out his sentence after the authorities were tipped off about the scandal and launched a review of his case.

China started to introduce parole in 1990 to show compassion or account for humanitarian circumstances.