Former provincial legislator stands trial for bribe-taking

SHIJIAZHUANG, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Sun Guoxiang, a former senior legislator of northeast China's Liaoning Province, Thursday stood trial at a court in Langfang, Hebei Province, on a charge of accepting bribes.

According to the prosecution filed by the people's procuratorate of Langfang, Sun, former deputy director of the Standing Committee of the Liaoning Provincial People's Congress, took advantage of his various positions in Liaoning to help relevant companies obtain loans and special funds, among other matters.

In return, Sun illegally accepted money and goods worth about 97.7 million yuan (14.2 million U.S. dollars) between 2008 and 2018 when he served as the acting mayor and mayor of Panjin City, Liaoning, as well as chief of the Panjin municipal committee of the Communist Party of China.

At the trial, attended by more than 30 people, the procuratorial agency presented evidence, and Sun and his defense counsel cross-examined the evidence. Both sides gave their respective full accounts.

In his final statement, Sun pleaded guilty and expressed remorse.

Sun's sentence will be announced at a later date.