Chinese courts told to discipline judges after scandal

China's top court urged judges to enforce strict disciplines on Wednesday after a prostitution scandal has embroiled both a local court and judicial credibility as a whole.

China's Supreme People's Court circulated a notice to courts of lower levels on Wednesday, asking judges to "rectify their working style, tighten the disciplines, and eliminate the black sheep from the staffs".

The statement was issued in response to a high-profiled surveillance footage, in which four judges were shown patronizing alleged prostitutes. The footage has spiked soaring criticism after being put online.

The investigation of Shanghai disciplinary authorities showed the four judges, all from Shanghai High People's Court, have received escort services from female karaoke workers with three other private-sector employees at a local resort on June 9, and then they patronized prostitutes being sought by one of the private-sector employees from a nearby health club.

All the four judges have been expelled from the Party following the investigation. The court has also submitted an appeal to the city's people's congress to remove the four judges from their posts.