The Chinese government has secured the conviction of a former government official for gross fraud committed while in office.
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The Former Communist Party boss of the northeastern province of Liaoning was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday after he was found guilty of corruption, state media said.
The court in Henan province found Wang Min guilty of bribery and dereliction of duty, the official People’s Daily said.
Between 2004 and 2016, when Wang held a range of jobs, including party boss of Jilin, the province neighbouring Liaoning, he abused his position to seek personal gain in promotions for others.
The court said that Wang took bribes running to more than 146 million yuan (16.73 million pounds) and failed to prevent a creeping vote-buying scandal in Liaoning’s provincial legislature.
Half of the province’s legislators were dismissed last year due to fraud. Wang repented and admitted his guilt, meaning he received a lighter sentence, the People’s Daily added, a probable reference to his escaping the death penalty.
It was not possible to reach a family or legal representative for comment. President Xi Jinping’s sweeping anti-corruption campaign has targeted a raft of high-ranking officials in industry and government.
He has said the problem was so bad that it might affect the Communist Party’s grip on power.