Chinese police investigate fake hukou cases

China's Ministry of Public Security has launched investigations into the fake household registration (hukou) cases reported in the media.

Preliminary investigation by a special squad has led to the arrest of some suspects, the ministry said in a statement.

According to media reports, intermediaries in east China's Anhui and Jiangxi provinces colluded with corrupt policemen to forge and trade fake hukous. Each fake hukou is priced at more than 30,000 yuan (about 5,000 US dollars).

The ministry said the suspects took advantage of loopholes in the hukou system and negligence of duty by some local police units.

Pressured by several high-profile fake hukou cases, the ministry had been cracking down on hukou counterfeiting in 2013, led to the cancellation of 790,000 fake hukous.

The ministry pledged to fix the loopholes and vowed to bring corrupt officers to justice.