Chinese anti-corruption chief gets death penalty over bribes

A court in eastern China's Shandong Province pronounced the verdict against Wang Huayuan, who was a high profile anti-corruption official once.Wang, 62, was charged with taking bribes and failing to explain the source of his personal assets, all of which have been confiscated.

The Intermediate People's Court of Zaozhuang handed down the sentence for the trial that began July 14.Wang was accused of abusing his position as secretary of the provincial commissions for discipline inspection in Guangdong and Zhejiang while a senior official in the two provinces between 1998 and 2009, Xinhua news agency reported.

In return for bribes, Wang dispensed favourable treatment that helped others in business, employment, litigation and in avoiding arrest, the court said.He was charged with taking 7.71 million yuan (about USD 1.13 million) in bribes.Wang was unable to explain the source of 8.94 million yuan of his personal assets, the report said.

The court said the bribes were "enormous" and that Wang's offences were "extremely serious".Wang was detained and put under investigation in April last year. He was stripped of his membership of the Communist Party of China and his post in August the same year.