BEIJING, December 19 - RAPSI, Maria Chaplygina. A Chinese official has been sentenced to the death penalty with a two-year reprieve for taking a bribe worth $7.5 million, a Chinese judicial information website reported on Wednesday.

The court found Wu Zhiming, former Secretary General of Jiangxi Government in China, guilty of abuse of power.

Investigators found that from 2002 to 2011, when holding different posts in the region, the official took over 47 million yuan ($7.5 million) in bribes in exchange for assisting in job placements and implementing various projects.

According to the current practice, the death penalty can be substituted for life imprisonment for two year's good behavior. The former official's assets have been confiscated.

The fight against corruption is currently one of China's top priorities. Over the last few years, dozens of officials have been sentenced to long prison terms and even the death penalty for major economic crimes. The most high-profile of these cases concern Bo Xilai, former Chongqing's party leader, and head of Chongqing's police department Wang Lijun. The latter will spend 15 years in prison, while the date of Bo Xilai's trial has not yet been announced.