AKIPRESS.COM - A former top Chinese economic planning official was convicted of bribery Wednesday and sentenced to life in prison, the court said, after a former lover went public with a litany of accusations against him.

The guilty verdict against Liu Tienan, once deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planning agency, is the latest step of the Communist Party's much-publicised anti-corruption campaign.

"Liu Tienan is sentenced to life in prison for bribery," the Langfang Intermediate People's Court said in a document handed to AFP.

He was convicted of taking 35.58 million yuan ($5.8 million) in bribes, the document added.

It added that the case was "based on clear facts and concrete and sufficient evidence".

"The court holds that the defendant Liu Tienan as a government employee took advantage of his post to seek gains for others, illegally took cash or gifts from others by himself or via his son Liu Decheng. His activities amounted to committing the crime of bribery."