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Chinese General Under Investigation for Corruption Commits Suicide


In this March 8, 2017, photo, Zhang Yang, left, the then-head of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) political affairs department, is seen with Fang Fenghui, right, the then-chief of the general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
In this March 8, 2017, photo, Zhang Yang, left, the then-head of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) political affairs department, is seen with Fang Fenghui, right, the then-chief of the general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

Chinese state media said Tuesday a military official under investigation for corruption has committed suicide.

The Xinhua news agency said Zhang Yang hanged himself Thursday at his home.

Zhang was a member of the Communist Party's Central Military Commission and formerly headed the Political Work Department.

Xinhua said Zhang had been under investigation since August on suspicion of bribery, having a large amount of property he could not account for and other acts that "seriously violated" laws and regulations.

Investigators were looking into links between Zhang and two other top military officials who were earlier targets in President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign.

Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou were former vice-chairmen of the Central Military Commission. Guo was sentenced to life in prison last year, while Xu died of cancer in 2015 before he could face trial.

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