BEIJING -- Chinese prosecutors will strengthen supervision over officials' dereliction of duty in work safety accidents, an official from the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said on Sunday.

Prosecutors will target officials' malpractice that leads to major accidents or the postponement of rescue operations, the official with the SPP's duty dereliction and rights infringement bureau said.

Supervision priorities will be in the transportation of dangerous chemicals, natural gas, and oil, infrastructure construction, environment, and food safety, according to the official.

Officials should not cover up, delay or give false information about work safety accidents, or instruct others to do so, according to the SPP official.

From 2008 to 2013, nearly 5,500 officials were investigated or prosecuted for dereliction of duty in more than 4,000 cases, SPP statistics show. Prosecutors have recovered economic losses worth more than 2 billion yuan ($320 million).