China jails former Nanjing party chief for 12 years

[SHANGHAI] The former party chief of Nanjing city has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for accepting bribes, a Chinese court said Wednesday, two years after he was sacked amid a national crackdown on corruption.

Yang Weize received a 12 and a half year sentence for taking over 16 million yuan (S$3.278 million) as head of the eastern city's Communist Party office as well as other positions in Jiangsu province, a statement from the Ningbo Intermediate People's Court said.

He was first probed by the ruling party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection in January 2015 and was later sacked from his position.

The investigation came as leader Xi Jinping launched a much-publicised drive against corruption after he came to power in 2014, vowing to target both high-level "tigers" and low-ranking "flies".

The court also confiscated two million yuan from Yang besides taking back the illegal gains he made, the statement said.

AFP