BEIJING - CHINA has expanded the definition of who may face commercial bribery charges to include people such as doctors and teachers who accept cash or other gifts from salesmen, widening the net in its efforts to fight corruption.

Graft is rampant in China, being blamed for a range of problems from shoddy construction to overprescription of drugs by doctors. Faced with the prospect of growing social instability a seconomic growth slows, authorities have vowed to step up their crackdown on corruption.

The judicial interpretation issued late on Monday by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate clarifies that employees of a range of institutions other than government agencies and state firms can be punished for accepting illegal returns when making procurement decisions.

Organising committees of sports and cultural events and members of village and residents' committees would also be subject to the rules, state media said.

'The interpretation further clarifies the circumstances in facing crimes of bribery, especially the affirmation of commercial bribery, to staff of companies, enterprises and other institutions,' the official China Daily on Tuesday quoted the judicial bodies as saying.

It also made clear that goods or services of monetary value, including home furnishings, travel packages and shopping coupons, can be considered as bribes, the newspaper said. -- REUTERS