(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-08-14 14:22

China's serious crime rate was down in the first half of the year, the Ministry of Public Security announced on Tuesday.

Bomb attacks were down 27.2 percent, murders down 9.1 percent and arson down 7.9 percent, said Wu Heping, spokesman of the ministry, at a press conference.

Cases of theft remained at the same level as the previous year, with the number totaling 1.45 million.

Some 46,000 cases related to drugs and gambling were recorded, down 8.9 percent.

The country's police authorities have investigated more than two million crime cases in the first half of 2007, of which about 920,000 have been solved.