China’s ex-security chief Zhou Yongkang gets life in prison

China's former security chief Zhou Yongkang has been sentenced to life in prison, the state news agency Xinhua reported, the most senior member of the Communist Party yet to be punished in a wide-ranging corruption crackdown.

“Zhou Yongkang was sentenced to life imprisonment for accepting bribes, abusing power and deliberately disclosing state secrets, with his political rights deprived for life and personal assets confiscated,” Xinhua reported.

He is the highest profile target yet in president Xi Jinping's campaign to root out corruption in China, whether it involves massive wealth accumulated by the powerful "tigers" of the elite or backhanders palmed over to the "flies" at the bottom of the Communist Party.

The sentence was handed down at the Tianjin Municipal No. 1 Intermediate People's Court on Thursday. Mr Zhou will not appeal the sentence.

Mr Zhou (72), was formerly a member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Communist Party, the apogee of power in China.

He retired in December 2012, shortly after Mr Xi came to power.

Mr Zhou was arrested and expelled from the party in December last year, accused of a range of crimes ranging from taking bribes to having mistresses to leaking state secrets.

Among other things, he was charged with leaking state secrets to his fortune teller.

Since Mr Xi made his pledge back in November 2012, tens of thousands of officials have been arrested and he has taken down some major figures, including Bo Xilai, the former party boss in Dalian and Chongqing who is serving a life sentence for corruption and abuse of power, while his wife Gu Kailai sits in jail for murder.

Part of the charge sheet against Mr Zhou said he leaked party and national secrets.

The trial apparently happened behind closed doors on May 22nd.

Supreme Court president Zhou Qiang had said earlier that Mr Zhou's trial would be open "in accordance with the law".