Chinese anti-corruption official sentenced to death for taking $1 million in bribes

BEIJING – BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese court has sentenced a top provincial official responsible for rooting out corruption to death for accepting more than $1 million in bribes.

The official Xinhua News Agency said Thursday that 62-year-old Wang Huayuan was sentenced by a court in eastern Shandong province for abusing his position. Wang was given a two-year reprieve, which means if he shows good behavior the sentence will likely be commuted to a life term.

Xinhua said Wang took the cash in exchange for helping corrupt businesses avoid arrests.

Calls to the Zaozhuang Intermediate People's Court rang unanswered Thursday.

Wang was detained last year when China launched a nationwide crackdown on corruption, gangs and violence. The campaign has yielded 256,000 arrests.