Former senior provincial legislator sentenced to 15 years in prison for accepting bribes

BEIJING, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Gong Jianhua, formerly a senior legislator in east China's Jiangxi Province, was on Tuesday sentenced to 15 years in prison for accepting bribes.

The verdict was issued by the Intermediate People's Court of Zhangzhou City in east China's Fujian Province.

From 2004 to 2020, Gong took advantage of his positions in Jiangxi Province to assist individuals in project contracting and career promotions, accepting money and valuables totaling over 83.61 million yuan (about 11.66 million U.S. dollars) in return.

Per the verdict, the defendant was also fined 5.5 million yuan, and has been deprived of his political rights for life. His illicit gains have been confiscated and will be turned over to the national treasury.

Considering facts including Gong's confession of his crimes after surrendering himself, and that he showed remorse and was cooperative in returning his illegal gains, he was granted a lenient sentence, according to the court.