YANBIAN, JILIN, Oct. 13 -- A former senior official of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region was sentenced to 15 years in prison for taking bribes by a local court in northeast China's Jilin Province on Monday.

Li Daqiu, former vice chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Regional Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was also stripped of political rights for four years by the Intermediate People's Court of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin. His property, worth 2 million yuan (326,435 U.S. dollars), was also confiscated.

The court found that from 2003 to 2013, Li used his position to benefit 17 companies and individuals, illegally accepting 10.95 million yuan in bribes from others during his tenure as the Communist Party chief of Hezhou City in Guangxi and as vice chairman of the region's political advisory body.

The court said as a state functionary, Li's conduct constituted the crime of bribery. However, he was punished with leniency for voluntarily confessing crimes the authority did not know and offering information on crimes of others.

Over 50 people, including some citizens and journalists attended the public trial on Monday.

Li was expelled from the Communist Party of China and public office for discipline violations on Sept. 4, 2013.