5.8 billion RMB embezzled from housing project

BEIJING -- China's top auditor said Friday that nearly 5.8 billion yuan ($940 million) in funds meant for low-incoming housing projects was embezzled last year.

The funds were diverted by 360 projects and units to other purposes, according to the National Audit Office (NAO).

China has vowed to build 36 million affordable housing units during the 2011-2015 period to meet the demand from low-income families.

The program, first approved in 1999, is designed to provide less costly housing to wage-earning workers and low-rent homes to poverty-stricken residents edged out by the country's runaway real estate prices in recent years.