On Saturday, China's top court asked every grassroots court to self-discipline, saying that it will put priority on corruption.

In 2015, 721 court officers were found to use their power illegally, of whom, 686 were punished and 120 were investigated, according to a statement issued by the Supreme People's Court.

Zhou Qiang, president of the top court, said that Chinese courts strictly handled crimes of corruption and defendants offering bribes, no matter how level his or her work post is in. Zhou also stated that every court officer must strictly enforce laws and learn from the high-profiled case involving Xi Xiaoming.

Xi, 61, is the former vice-president of the top court. He was investigated for breaches of law and Party disciplines in July.

The accusations, released by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China, are common commission terms for corruption.

In September, Xi was expelled from the Party for the alleged graft and bribery.

Chinese courts sentenced several high-ranking officials over the past year, such as the former national security chief Zhou Yongkang and the former head of State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission Jiang Jiemin.

Zhou was sentenced to life in prison in June, while Jiang got a 16-year prison sentence.

Contact the writer at caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn