The former deputy head of China's top planning agency was jailed for life Wednesday over a bribery scandal that exposed graft at the highest levels of China's government, and ensnared several companies — including Toyota Motor Corp.
The sentence, handed down by a court just outside of Beijing, capped the downfall of Liu Tienan, who was sacked as deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) last year, a position that carries ministerial-level status.
Liu was the first ministerial-level official to face an investigation after Xi Jinping became Communist Party head in late 2012 and launched the most aggressive anti-graft campaign China has seen in decades.