BEIJING (Reuters) - Police in China’s capital said on Sunday they had investigated hundreds of cases of suspected prostitution, in a rare public announcement on a crackdown against illegal vice.

The police action was focused on the districts of Dongcheng in the east of Beijing and Haidian in the northwest, Beijing police said on their Twitter-like Weibo microblog.

They did not say if they had detained any suspects.

While prostitution is banned in China, it is widespread.