A file photo dated 10 November 2005 showing then Chinese Railway Minister Liu Zhijun in Berlin. Photo by EPA/BGNES
China’s former Railways Minister has been sentenced to death for bribery and abuse of power in one of the country's highest-level corruption cases for decades.
Liu Zhijun was sentenced to death, suspended for two years, by a court in Beijing, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday.
Liu, 60, who oversaw the ministry's high-profile bullet train development, was accused of accepting massive bribes and steering lucrative projects to associates.
After two years, such sentences typically are reduced to life in prison if the inmate shows good behavior, but Liu will spend at least ten years in jail.