Beijing, May 8: Sun Zhengcai, a former top Chinese Communist Party official, was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday for taking bribes of over 170 million yuan ($26 million) between 2002 and 2017.

The sentence was announced by the First Intermediate People's Court of Tianjin, reports Xinhua news agency. He has been deprived of political rights for life and all his personal property will be confiscated, according to the verdict.

His illegal gains and relevant yields will also be seized, the court said. Sun, 54, was a former member of the ruling Communist Party's Politburo -- China's top decision-making body -- and was considered a future leader at the time of his downfall.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 08, 2018 09:41 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).