Beijing (CNN) -- Xu Caihou, a retired PLA general and former vice-chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC), was taken from his sick bed at 301 Military Hospital in Beijing on Saturday by dozens of armed policemen, the South China Morning Post reported, quoting unidentified sources. Xu was detained the same day President Xi Jinping chaired a steering group tasked with reforming the military, the Post said. If confirmed, Xu would become the highest-ranking military officer to be detained on suspicion of corruption. Xu's critics claim that during his tenure, the buying and selling of military ranks was widespread in the defense establishment. "I was told by an ex-PLA man I met on the train travelling to Guangzhou that he quit the military because so many people were buying positions and he did not want to play that game," said David Zweig, professor at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. I was told by an ex-PLA man... that he quit the military because so many people were buying positions David Zweig, professor at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology "Telling me, a foreign professor, such dirt suggests that it is widespread and the anger that exists about this is also widespread." Bribery scandal Xu's detention may be connected with the corruption probe of Gu Junshan, the army's former deputy logistics chief and one of Xu's closest subordinates. Gu, who was in charge of the military's massive procurement and property portfolio, reportedly received bribes in cash and gifts. He has been under investigation since early 2012. Xu, 71, was promoted to the CMC in 1999 and became its vice-chairman in 2004. He retired in March last year. He has not been seen in public for several months until January 20, when the Chinese media showed him with President Xi greeting a group of retired military officials on the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year. The bespectacled general appeared frail, observers noted. He is said to be terminally ill with bladder cancer, prompting speculation that Xu may have been spared a corruption probe and prosecution due to his condition. His sympathizers had been pushing for leniency, sources said, arguing that the terminal cancer was a fate equal to the death penalty. But the prospect of treating Xu leniently has caused discontent among reformists in the military who say letting Xu off the hook will be following double standards.
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