Chinese general jailed for corruption

A Chinese military court has sentenced a former top general to life in prison for taking bribes, concluding China’s highest-level prosecution of a military figure in decades.

Guo Boxiong was also stripped of his rank and forced to hand over all his assets to the Chinese government, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Guo, aged 74, is a former vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, which is led by Xi Jinping, China’s president and leader of the Communist Party.

Guo also was once among the 25 members of the Politburo.

While few details of the charges against Guo were immediately released, state media had reported that prosecutors had proof that he and his family took advantage of his position and accepted bribes to arrange promotions.

The reports cited prosecutors as saying Guo had confessed.

Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post newspaper quoted an unidentified military source as saying Guo had taken a total of €80m yuan ($12.3 million) in bribes.

Though officially retired, Guo continued to enjoy many of the rights and privileges of his exalted status.

As the commission’s first-ranking vice chairman, Guo was responsible for the daily operations of the 2.3 million-member People’s Liberation Army.