Guo Youming, former vice governor of central China's Hubei Province, has been placed under criminal investigation, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) announced.

The SPP has decided to start the investigation of Guo's suspected crime of taking bribes, the SPP said in a statement on Wednesday.

Coercive measures have been imposed on him and the investigation is under way, it said.

Guo has been expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) for "serious disciplinary violations."

The CPC disciplinary watchdog said on Tuesday that Guo is "morally corrupt."