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Stories of corruption at local and provincial levels of government are everywhere in China.

But they usually take the form of subtle bribery and business deals.

Andrew Livingstone reports on what looks to be a very visible example of local officials bending the rules to their advantage.

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This is the local government office in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region where a local man burned himself to death last week. According to his family, Ruan Guangrui, a farmer from the rural area of Dongsun near Baise City, committed suicide outside the gates of the district government to protest at grass-roots corruption.

His widow, Deng, said the 49-year-old was angry that officials refused to listen to their complaints about graft.

"It's all because of his report on the corruption case. He said he wanted to use his death to draw the attention of the authorities. He wasn't able to sleep for a month, turning the case over and over in his mind. The report was submitted to the local police department, but it was dismissed."

The use of instant messaging has gone to a new level in East China's Anhui Province. Prosecutors in Xuan Cheng city is using a popular instant messaging called QQ to solve crimes.

Instant messaging service QQ has a Hotline that has been used by the Department of the Prosecutor's office in Xuan Cheng since January. Deputy Wu from the office says the hotline is a useful way to protect the confidentiality of sources and get more clues from citizens. Wu says the idea came from a crime in the town of Jixi.

The city's Attorney General Wang Xianglin was chatting with a QQ user and received a report that a major leader of a local government named Ye had been involved in a corruption scandal worth about one million dollars. Ye was sentenced to six years in prison.

China's Communist Party has released new restrictions for so-called "naked officials". These are civil servants – government workers – who have basically transferred all their assets or those with family members who have moved abroad, according to a report Monday. The state-run China Daily reported that the new restrictions were issued as part of a broader effort to crack down on corruption. The new rules dictate that officials with children and spouses who have moved outside the country must disclose the whereabouts of family members, the report said.

Now, we reported earlier this week on plans being drawn up in the southern city of Guangzhou for a penalty system for anti-social behavior which could lead to public-housing tenants being evicted. The potential offences in government housing in Guangzhou include spitting in public, parking illegally or drying laundry on fences.

More serious offences include throwing rubbish out of upper floors or storing flammable or explosive material. In today's Straight from the Street we asked people what this latest crackdown on anti-social behavior.