A court in China handed down the death penalty to a former senior legislator from central Hunan province for bribery, state media reported on Tuesday.

Peng Guofu, former vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the Hunan Provincial People's Congress, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, which means the execution is suspended for a period of two years, according to the Xinhua news agency.

He was found to have accepted bribes exceeding 134 million yuan (around 18.6 million dollars) from 2004 to 2023.

Peng was deprived of political rights for life. All of his personal property was confiscated, and all his illegal gains must be recovered and turned over to the state treasury, the news agency reported, citing the court verdict.

Abuse of position

The court ruled that Peng abused his former positions to assist others in matters, including project contracting, business operations, and the promotion of officials, in exchange for illegal gains.

However, a "lenient" sentence was granted because part of the bribes were not actually obtained by Peng, and he had been cooperative in the investigation and in returning the illegal gains.