Hey guys, Shanghai wants you back (for good)

Shanghai prosecutors plan to set up a special office to hunt down 13 government or state company officials who have fled overseas.

Only five suspects who fled abroad in the past five years - including to Hong Kong and Macao -have returned to face charges in cases valued at nearly 43m yuan. Some came back voluntarily, while others were repatriated.

Reports yesterday gave no names, but said the other 13 were wanted in cases involving 103m yuan. Of the group, nine were sought for unspecified corruption charges, three for misusing public funds and one for bribery.

Shanghai is in the middle of a crackdown on corruption which has already claimed the city's top leader, party secretary Chen Liangyu, for his role in abuse of its pension fund.

When Chen was removed in late September, authorities confiscated passports and stationed guards at departure points to prevent people connected to the case from fleeing the country, according to reports.

The Shanghai People's Procuratorate now plans to set up an office to work with overseas police and judicial bodies to track down officials suspected of crimes who have fled abroad.

"Procuratorate" will get you 17 points in Scrabble.