Death sentence for Chinese ex-police chief

A court in the southern Chinese region of Guangxi Zhuang has sentenced a former police chief to death for taking bribes and illegally holding and concealing guns.

The man, Yu Ding, who was head of police in the city of Liuzhou, was accused of crimes including taking an estimated two hundred and seventy five thousand dollars from a local businessman in return for ignoring his gambling operations.

Mr Yu's wife, Chen Hong, was sentenced to fifteen years in prison.

Meanwhile, China's biggest corruption trial is continuing in the southeastern province of Fujian, where courts have so far passed down at least twelve death sentences.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service