BEIJING, Feb. 15 -- Three officials with the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) have been punished for violating frugality regulations of the Communist Party of China (CPC) during a foreign trip, according to a statement released Sunday.

They were given serious warnings by the Party for extending the trip longer than necessary, adding unnecessary stops and using public funds for private ends during the trip, said a statement posted on the website of the CPC's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI).

The three officials were SHFE's vice general manager Ye Chunhe, discipline chief Lao Guangxiong and Wang Lihua, who was chairwoman of the board of supervisors before she retired.

Ye and Lao also received heavy demerits on their records.

All those involved in the trips were ordered to cover the expenses they had covered with public funds.

The CPC's eight-point frugality campaign started on Dec. 4, 2012, with the aim to reduce pomp, ceremony, bureaucracy and other undesirable work practices.