BEIJING: The former head of the company that owns Beijing Capital International Airport was executed Friday, convicted of bribery and embezzlement totalling nearly 16 million dollars, state media reported.

Li Peiying, former chairman and general manager of Capital Airports Holding Company (CAH), which also operates numerous other airports throughout China, was put to death in the eastern city of Jinan, Xinhua news agency said.

He was put to death after the Supreme People's Court upheld his sentence, according to the agency.

Li, 60, was convicted in February of accepting bribes totalling 26.61 million yuan (3.9 million dollars) and embezzling 82.5 million yuan while in his post from 1995 to 2003.

CAH, which is under the Civil Aviation Administration of China, is a major state-owned enterprise.

The group has more than 30 airports, including the flagship Beijing Capital International Airport, manages assets of more than 100 billion yuan and has more than 38,000 staff.

Massive corruption has emerged as one of the greatest scourges attending China's economic resurgence in the past three decades and the Communist Party often hands down harsh sentences to show it is serious about the problem.