BEIJING - China's procuratorial agencies investigated 28,894 officials for duty-related crimes in sectors related to agriculture and poverty relief in the past two and a half years.

Some 16,385 of them were suspected of bribery, accounting for 56.7 percent of the total investigated from the beginning of 2013 to the end of May, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said on Tuesday.

Most of these officials are in rural areas and at township and village levels, said Chen Zhengyun, deputy head of the SPP's office for duty-related criminal investigations.

Some central departments, local government staff, applicants and rural village heads colluded with each other to swindle funds intended for agricultural development and poverty relief, Chen said.

The SPP is planning a two-year campaign from July to crack down on abuse of power in the sectors.