Corrupt officials to get death penalty, court rules

"The penalty will be reserved for extremely serious cases with extremely vile impact,’’ the Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate said in a Monday ruling.

Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping launched his "tigers and flies" purge over three years ago.

The campaign ostensibly aimed to punish corrupt officials in both high and low positions, and has lasted longer and struck at a more senior level than many analysts expected.

Report says suspended death sentences, which in China are often commuted to life in prison, have been handed down in some corruption cases already.

A military court sentenced Gu Junshan, the former deputy head of the military's logistics department, to death for corruption with a two-year reprieve in October 2015.

Former minister of railways, Liu Zhijun, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, for bribery and abuse of power, in July 2013.

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Su Shulin, governor of the prosperous eastern province of Fujian at the time, was placed under investigation for "serious violations” in October 2015.

Bo Xilai, former party chief of the southern Chongqing municipality, was sentenced to life in prison in September 2013, after having been found guilty of corruption, embezzlement and abuse of power.