When fallen corrupt officials confess in a Chinese court, they often repent having let their mind stray while in power, which they say has pushed them down the road to self-destruction.

Take Zhang Shuguang, a former top railways official charged with accepting 47.55 million yuan ($7.7 million) in bribes. On Sept 10 he admitted in court that after making some personal achievements, he turned to criminal activities as he "let his mind loose" and slackened in studies.

Interestingly, three months earlier, the former railways minister and his patron Liu Zhijun also blamed "slackening in studies and letting his guard down" for his downfall, before he was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for bribery and abuse of power.