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BEIJING (AP) — A court in northern China sentenced a former vice minister of public security to 15 years in jail on Tuesday for accepting bribes, state media reported.
Li Dongsheng is the latest senior figure to fall in President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption crackdown that has targeted scores of high-level officials, including figures linked to China's former state security chief, Zhou Yongkang. Zhou, the biggest tiger to fall, was once seen as a potent rival of Xi and was at the center of a vast patronage system from his various positions of power.
Li was sentenced by a court in Tianjin city, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Calls to the court rang unanswered.
Li helped others get benefits from 1996 to 2013 when he held positions including the vice minister in the Ministry of Public Security and the deputy head of state broadcaster China Central Television, Xinhua said.
He also demanded and received bribes worth 22 million yuan ($3.4 million) from 2008 to 2013, Xinhua said.
Despite having no experience in law enforcement, Li was elevated to vice public security minister in 2009, sparking rumors he was assisted by Zhou, who was sentenced to life in prison in June for corruption and other crimes.
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This story has been corrected to show that Li was sentenced Tuesday, not Monday.
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