Chinese ex-minister gets death penalty for graft, power abuse

China's former railways minister Liu Zhijun was Monday sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve on charges of bribery and abuse of power.

The people's court in Beijing also cancelled the political rights of the 60-year-old former minister for life and confiscated all his personal property, Xinhua reported.

Liu was also sentenced to 10 years in jail for abuse of power, according to the court verdict.

The court found that from 1986 to 2011, Liu took advantage of his positions as an official of railway bureaus as well as the ministry of railways, and helped 11 people get promotions, project deals and cargo transportation contracts.

The then minister also accepted 64.6 million yuan (around $10.5 million) in bribes during the period.

When he was railways minister, Liu helped a few people get cargo transportation and railway construction contracts. He also helped them in the acquisition of shares in a bullet train wheel company and reap huge profits.

The court ruled that Liu's bribery and abuse of power caused colossal losses in public assets, violated the interests of the state and people.

Liu confessed to his crimes, and provided further information about his bribery that were unknown to investigative departments.

Most of money Liu accepted in bribes have been recovered.