CHENGDU - Li Hongwei, Party secretary of the development and reform commission of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, was sacked for "serious discipline violations", the provincial discipline watchdog said on Wednesday.

An initial investigation showed that Li had accepted bribes and gifts, according to the discipline inspection commission of Sichuan Province.

Li's case has been passed to the judiciary.

Liangshan is China's largest residential area of the Yi ethnic minority.It is also one of the poorest regions in Sichuan Province.