The former justice minister on the mainland faces life in prison, after a court handed him a suspended death sentence on Thursday for taking bribes and "bending the law".

Fu Zhenghua's death sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment after a two-year reprieve, the Intermediate People's Court in the city of Changchun said in a statement.

The court established that Fu took bribes worth over 117 million yuan by abusing power in various positions he held between 2005 and 2021.

Additionally, between 2014 and 2015, when Fu was head of the Beijing Public Security Bureau, the court said he hid evidence of suspected crimes committed by his brother, Fu Weihua, and failed to handle the case in accordance with the law.

"(He is) deprived of political rights for life and all personal property should be confiscated," it added.

The court said it had granted a lenient sentence because Fu, 67, had confessed to his crimes and showed repentance and had been cooperative in returning his illegal gains.

After the two-year reprieve for his death sentence, Fu's sentence can be commuted to life in prison in accordance with the law, but no further reduction or parole shall be given to him, the court said.

Fu was a member of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission and the minister of justice before entering semi-retirement in May 2020. (Xinhua/AFP)