Sentences handed down to 3 ex-railway officials

Beijing No 2 Intermediate People's Court has taken charge of hearing the cases involving ex-railways officials, and has sentenced three people.

Liu Zhijun, ex-railways minister, was sentenced in July 2013 to death with a two-year reprieve for accepting 64.6 million yuan ($10.5 million) in bribes and abuse of power. Liu helped 11 people win promotions and project contracts between 1986 and 2011.

Liu, 61, from Hubei province, became railways minister and the ministry's Party chief in March 2003.

He called for "leapfrog development", which entailed building a high-speed 16,000-kilometer rail network by 2015. Trillions of yuan in investment poured in, and funds were embezzled.

He was removed from his position on suspicion of "serious disciplinary violations" in February 2011 and expelled from the Communist Party of China in 2012. Liu's removal is also believed to be linked to the high-speed train collision in July 2011 that killed 40 passengers and injured 172 others. The tragedy has been blamed on improper management.

Zhang Shuguang, former deputy chief engineer of the transport bureau under what was then the ministry of railways - now China Railway Corp - was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve on Oct 17 on corruption charges.

Zhang, 58, a native of Jiangsu province, first went on trial in September 2013 for taking 47.55 million yuan in bribes. He was the second-highest-ranking railway official charged with graft.

Zhang was suspended from his office in 2011.

Su Shunhu, ex-director of the transportation bureau of the former ministry of railways, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve on Oct 17 for taking 24 million yuan in bribes.