China to prosecute former top officer for graft

China has expelled a former top general from the ruling Communist Party over corruption accusations as President Xi Jinping's campaign to root out graft in the government and military churns onward.

Guo Boxiong, 73, a former vice chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission, will be prosecuted under the armed forces' justice system, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Friday.

 Xi , who heads the Central Military Commission that controls the People’s Liberation Army, has made weeding out corruption in the military and elsewhere a top goal, promising to target high-ranking "tigers" as well as lowly "flies" in his anti-corruption drive.

"One wicked man wiped out, dread put in the hearts of all other wicked people," said the official People’s Daily in a front-page editorial. "The anti-corruption sword must be raised high to cut off the bud of corruption and make the corrupt pay a price."

Guo is accused of accepting bribes to grant promotions and other benefits for others as a vice chairman of the commission, according to Xinhua. Further details weren't given, although prosecutors have focused on the selling of ranks and positions, and the embezzlement of military funds as they attempt to clean up corruption in the world's largest standing military.

His case follows that of Xu Caihou, who was also a Central Military Commission vice chairman at the same time as Guo. The government said in last October that Xu had confessed to taking "massive" bribes in exchange for help in promotions. Xu died of bladder cancer in March and his case did not reach trial.

Guo's prosecution had been expected since March, when his son, Maj. Gen. Guo Zhenggang, was placed under formal investigation for corruption and unspecified criminal activity.

Wire services