Former senior municipal legislator sentenced to life imprisonment for graft

NANCHANG, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chen Jiadong, a former senior legislator of Xiamen City in east China's Fujian Province, was on Tuesday sentenced to life imprisonment for accepting bribes, embezzlement and abuse of power.

The verdict was issued by the Intermediate People's Court of Nanchang in east China's Jiangxi Province.

Between 2000 and 2022, Chen took undue advantage of his positions in Tibet Autonomous Region and Fujian to assist various individuals and entities, and accepted 94.15 million yuan (about 13.12 million U.S. dollars) in money and valuables in return.

According to the court, Chen exploited his position in Fujian's Zhangzhou City between 2015 and 2017, embezzling state-owned properties valued at more than 3.41 million yuan. He was also found guilty of indulging in malpractice for personal gains and abusing his power during his tenure in Zhangzhou between 2013 and 2014, resulting in state asset losses of over 190 million yuan.

The defendant has been deprived of his political rights for life and his personal properties have been confiscated, according to the verdict.