Former official of China's Xizang sentenced to 14 years in jail for bribery

XI'AN, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese court on Wednesday sentenced Zhang Yongze, former vice chairman of the government of the Xizang Autonomous Region, to 14 years in prison for bribery.

Zhang was also fined 5 million yuan (around 703,680 U.S. dollars) and had all of his illegal gains from bribery recovered and turned over to the state treasury, according to the Intermediate People's Court of Xi'an in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

The court found that between 2003 and 2021, Zhang had taken advantage of his various positions in Xizang to assist other individuals and entities in matters such as project contracting and personnel promotion. In return, he accepted money and property valued at over 51.81 million yuan.

A lenient sentence was appropriate as Zhang confessed to taking bribes and showed remorse, the court said.