One Chinese provincial deputy governor, a mayor, and several other high-ranking government officials were fired by the ruling Communist Party of China on Thursday over a vaccine scandal which caused a public outrage in the past few days, China's state media reported.
According to the Washington Post, the officials along with many others were among those castigated by the party's ruling leader, President Xi Jinping, during a meeting on Thursday.
The country's pharmaceutical sector was under fire after a shocking revelation last month linking to a Chinese rabies vaccine manufacturer.
The government is also ordering a follow-up criminal investigation on a certain fifth official who was not yet included in the recent roundup. This person of interest happens to be a former official of the national drug regulatory agency.
Subsequent details provided over at the South China Morning Post indicate President Xi's call for the seizure of all the "illegal gains" made by the drug maker Changchun Changsheng Bio-Technology -the firm accused of manufacturing half a million substandard vaccines which were later administered throughout the country.
Changsheng's CEO and 14 company officials were the first few gathered by the police this week.
The other top officials reportedly sacked in the recent crackdown include the deputy chairman of the Jilin People's Political Consultative Conference, Li Jinxiu, and Changchun mayor Liu Changlong.
Party secretary and State Market Regulatory administrator, Bi Jingquan, was also fired from office.
There are over 35 other yet-to-be-named officials that the Xi Jinping administration is currently investigating for their alleged connection to the rabies vaccine scandal.
No incidents of altercation or injuries were reported during the arrests. However, Chinese authorities ordered immediate suspension on the production of the vaccines and impounded the remaining stock supply of the medicine.
A statement made during the meeting of the Communist Party was quoted over at Channel News Asia reported that lawbreakers will be held accountable for jeopardizing the public safety of the people.
The ruling body put further emphasis on the need for government officials to "work well" and fulfill their responsibilities which they pledged to the nation "in a serious manner."
China has already announced a recall of products released to the foreign markets.
Meanwhile, Beijing formed a committee comprised of medical experts that are tasked to review the country's growing pharmaceutical industry which is now valued at USD$122 billion.
