China rejects police official Wen Qiang death appeal

Mr Wen was unable to account for millions of yuan in assets

A former senior police and judicial official in the Chinese city of Chongqing has lost his appeal against the death sentence.

Wen Qiang was convicted of accepting bribes, rape and shielding criminal gangs in a high-profile prosecution.

The city's high court upheld the verdict, saying the evidence against the 55-year-old was clear and abundant.

Mr Wen was the highest-ranking official charged in a widespread crackdown on organised crime in Chongqing.

China's national Supreme People's Court will now review the case before the sentence is carried out.

'Serious consequences'

Over many years Mr Wen occupied a number of powerful positions in Chongqing, taking bribes worth more than 12m yuan ($1.8m, £1.2m).

In return, the former deputy head of the city's police force gave people official jobs, and helped companies and business people obtain illegal profits.

"Wen Qiang's bribe-taking involved a large amount of money in a case that was particularly bad, so the consequences are especially serious," read a court statement posted on a Chongqing government-linked website.

Mr Wen, who was for a time head of the city's judicial department, also raped a university student in 2007.

More than 90 local officials have been prosecuted, with 42 found guilty of sheltering criminal gangs, in the crackdown on crime in Chongqing, according to the state-run news agency Xinhua.

It was initiated by the secretary of Chongqing's communist party, Bo Xilai, who has been widely praised for the attack on criminal activity.