Qu Shuhui, 62, a former senior anti-graft official, has been demoted on suspicion of corruption and violation of the code of conduct of the Communist Party of China.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection issued a statement on its website on Tuesday saying that Qu - who was the disciplinary chief of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission of China - had seriously violated the Party's code of conduct. The case has been filed for investigation.

When Qu was the disciplinary chief of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, she was guilty of poor supervision and dereliction of duty for failing to find the large-scale corruption that occurred there, according to a statement from the commission. It said that she also abused her power to seek illegal gains from projects under the management of the ministry.

Qu has been fired from her post and demoted to division chief level. She has been placed on probation by the Party for two years, an intraparty disciplinary measure.

Earlier this year, two former top officials with the Ministry of Civil Affairs - Li Liguo, former minister of civil affairs, and Dou Yupei, former vice-minister - received disciplinary punishments including demotion and early retirement for failing to supervise subordinates, according to a statement from the commission in February.

They were held accountable for poor governance and negligence, and also were responsible for large-scale corruption that occurred within the ministry, the commission said.