TAIYUAN -- Chinese police have put 35 people under criminal detention and are hunting for 20 others involved in the forced labor scandal at illegal brick kilns in north China's Shanxi Province, a senior official said here on Friday.

Sun Baoshu, deputy minister of labor and social security, said 15 criminal cases have been put on file for investigation. "We'll resolutely combat rampant crimes in the forced labor scandal," he said.

Another 24 people have been put under administrative detention and 38 given security punishment, according to the official.

The central government sent a team of investigators to look into the scandal that has raised nationwide concerns among the general public.

The scandal hit the headlines after a "call for help" letter was posted on the Internet earlier this month by more than 400 parents in central Henan Province, who believed their missing children had been sold to the small brick kilns.