A former judge was sentenced to death after pleading guilty to a murder at a trial in eastern China's Zhejiang province on Tuesday.

The Hangzhou Municipal Intermediate People's Court said Pan Huashan, former vice-chief-judge with the Zhejiang Provincial Higher People's Court, admitted killing and dismembering a man in January.

On Jan. 26, a dismembered corpse was discovered in Lin'an City of Zhejiang. After a six-month investigation, police identified the victim as a 67-year-old missing person surnamed Qian.

Later, police charged Pan as the suspected killer and arrested him on Aug. 1.

According to the verdict, Pan confessed that he killed the victim following a quarrel over a lawsuit and disposed of the body parts in Lin'an.