The Ministry of Justice on Tuesday held a conference to recognize the work of 105 local justice departments and 176 individuals for excellent security work during the May 12 earthquake.

Not one prisoner escaped during the 8.0-magnitude quake in southwest China's Sichuan Province, according to Wu Aiying, minister of justice.

She said that no production accidents or epidemics were reported in prisons or labor camps after the quake.

She said nearly 10,000 prisoners and 7,000 people sentenced to "re-education through labor", a lesser penalty than imprisonment, were transferred to safer places in the province after the quake hit.

"In the Aba prison, 30 kilometers from the epicenter, for example, the police braved aftershocks and landslides, climbed snowy mountains with an elevation of more than 4,000 meters 15 times, and successfully transferred 1,900 prisoners to safer places," she said.

In July, 539 inmates from 19 prisons were recognized for good behavior after the quake.

The death toll from the quake stood at 69,226 as of Monday at noon, according to official figures. The numbers of people listed as missing and injured were 17,923 and 374,643, respectively.

(Xinhua News Agency September 3, 2008)