Beijing: China’s military court on Thursday sentenced former defence ministers Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu to death with two-year reprieves for corruption, state media said.
The verdicts were delivered in separate proceedings.
The court found Wei guilty of taking bribes, and Li culpable of taking as well as giving bribes, state-run Xinhua news agency Xinhua reported, quoting from the judgments.
Wei and his successor Li — both active during President Xi Jinping’s tenure — were ousted from the Communist Party in 2024. They had also served on the Central Military Commission chaired by Xi.
Wei was defence minister from 2018 to 2023, and Li succeeded him for a few months.
The pair had led the People’s Liberation Army’s critical Rocket Force, formed in 2015 under Xi’s military restructuring.
Wei commanded the Rocket Force from its start through 2017 before becoming defence minister. He was later detained and expelled from the party on graft allegations.
Xi handpicked Li for the defence role.
Li’s dismissal led to the removal and charging of multiple senior Rocket Force figures with corruption.
President Xi’s anti-corruption push, launched since taking power in 2012, has disciplined more than a million officials, among them numerous generals.
