A Chinese court gave a suspended death sentence to a former railway ministry official on Friday over bribery charges worth about US$8 million.

The move comes in the wake of government’s campaign to combat corruption in the country.

Former railway ministry deputy chief Zhang Shuguang was sentenced after being found guilty of helping companies secure rail contracts while he was in position.

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He was fired from his post in 2011 shortly after former Railway Minister Liu Zhijun was detained for bribery and corruption charges.  

The government also seized all of Zhang’s properties and imposed a revocation of his political rights, reported Xinhua News.

The court said Zhang deserved a death sentence, reported Associated Press. However, since the bribe money was recovered, the court decided to impose a suspended death sentence, which means he would be imprisoned for life.

Zhang pleaded guilty on 13 counts of bribery last September. Zhang’s deputy, Su Shunhu, was also found guilty of receiving bribe money valued at 24 million yuan and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

The conviction of Zhang came a year after Liu was also sentenced to suspended death over corruption charges. The court found the former minister guilty of receiving bribes valued at more than US$10 million. Liu was said to have taken the bribes while he was in position for 25 years.

The Communist Party of China headed by President Xi Jinping reported 154 violations of the anti-bureaucracy and formalism guidelines in August alone. The efforts to crack down on corruption in China also brought about an increase in suicide incidents across the country. This year, six Chinese officials were reported to have committed suicide.

Other top government officials are also under probe for corruption, including former security chief Zhou Yongkang, former Central Military Commission vice chairman Xu Caihou and former Hainan province governor Ji Wenlin.

TagsZhang Shuguang, Railway Minister Liu Zhijun, Su Shunhu, Xu Caihou, Zhou Yongkang, Ji Wenlin, Hainan province