Top Chinese telecom official jailed for life for graft

A former top executive of China's largest telecom operator was today sentenced to life imprisonment for accepting over USD 4 million in bribes by a court in northeastern Jilin Province.
Lu Xiangdong, vice president of China Mobile, stood trial and was sentenced by the Intermediate People's Court of Jilin City, state-run China Radio International reported.
Lu, 53, was found guilty of taking bribes totalling more than 25 million yuan (USD 4.1 million) from 2003 to 2011 when he used his position to seek profits for others and accepted large amounts of bribes.
He has been deprived of his political rights for life and all of his property was confiscated, the court ruling said.

Lu was investigated in early 2012, when he was in charge of the firm's marketing operations, digital business and managed the company's cooperation business.
He was one among several top officials who were convicted for corruption with heavy punishments in recent years.
Former Railway Minister Li Zijun was also sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve.
The recent high-profile trial of disgraced Communist Party leader Bo Xilai, also sentenced to life imprisonment, revealed the serious extent of high-level corruption in China.