The former head of the Communist Party's publicity department in Chongqing is being investigated for corruption, state media reports say.
Zhang Zonghai , 54, had been put under shuanggui - a form of detention and interrogation in which party members suspected of wrongdoing are made to confess their offences - the official Chongqing Daily reported. It reported Mr Zhang had accepted bribes worth more than 9 million yuan when he was party secretary of Chongqing's Qianjiang district. He was promoted to his latest post in May 2002.
Although Mr Zhang was still under investigation, the report said he had already been dismissed.
The report also alleged that, after he was promoted to the department, Mr Zhang - at the invitation of a subordinate, Zhang Xiaochuan - went on gambling sprees in Macau, during which they lost more than 200 million yuan in the Lisboa Casino's VIP rooms.
Zhang Xiaochuan, a former head of the Chongqing Television and Broadcast Bureau, was also under investigation for alleged corruption.
According to the report, authorities were originally investigating Zhang Xiaochuan, but started probing Zhang Zonghai as well when he was implicated in Zhang Xiaochuan's alleged crimes.