Li Hua, the former chairman and general manager of the Sichuan branch of China Mobile, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve Tuesday for accepting bribes.

Li was convicted of accepting 16.48 million yuan (US$2.58 million) in bribes by the Intermediate People's Court in the city of Panzhihua in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Li had accepted bribes from local companies and took advantage of his position to offer illegal benefits to these companies, the court said. He had returned bribes of 12.59 million yuan (US$1.97 million).

Li was arrested on suspicion of taking bribes in September last year.

The ruling came on the heel of another China Mobile executive – former deputy general manager Zhang Chunjiang – receiving the suspended death sentence from a court in northern China's Hebei Province in July for taking bribes.