The Communist Party of China's (CPC) disciplinary watchdog will punish more severely those who fail to maintain safety in production to prevent accidents in workplaces.

Officials will be demoted, sacked or even expelled from the CPC if they take advantage of their posts to influence purchase, public biddings or accident probes, according to the new 10-point rules released by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) yesterday.

Those who try to save people responsible for the accidents, too, face severe punishment.