Former security official sentenced to life in prison

Ma Jian, a former vice-minister of state security, was sentenced on Thursday by a court in Northeastern China to life behind bars for accepting bribes and other crimes.

Ma's case was widely watched as he is associated with Guo Wengui, a most-wanted economic fugitive who is still at large overseas.

From 1999 to 2014, Ma was found to have made use of his official position to help Beijing Zenith Holdings, a company actually controlled by Guo. In the process, Ma accepted bribes from Guo, including money and valuables, worth about 109 million yuan ($15.8 million), according to the verdict reached by the Dalian Intermediate People's Court in Liaoning province.