BEIJING, China (CNN) — A former Chinese government official has been sentenced to death after a leaky toilet led police to a stash of cash he’d collected in bribes, state media reported.

A death sentence for bribery. Does that sound a little extreme? Maybe a death sentence for stupidity, now I can see that. The CNN article is here.

He was arrested after a resident called a police station to complain that water was leaking through the ceiling from the vacant apartment above.

I would have probably just called a plumber instead of 911, but I guess you never know what’s going on. And the police might be a little cheaper and show less butt crack.

A police officer sent to help a maintenance worker enter the property discovered the cause of the overflowing toilet: eight soaked cardboard boxes containing 9.39 million yuan ($ 1.3 million), Xinhua said.

One has to ask though, was he using the money as toilet paper? Or did he really think hiding it there was the very, very, very best place he could think of?