A former top official in China was today sentenced to 12 years in prison by a court here for accepting bribes amounting to USD 2.5 million, making him yet another high-profile politician convicted for corruption.
53-year-old Shen Peiping, a former vice governor of Yunnan Province, was sentenced by Beijing Municipal No 1 Intermediate People's Court for accepting bribes amounting to 16 million yuan (USD 2.5 million).
Having pleaded guilty to the charges, Shen's real estate property has been seized and a further two million yuan of his personal assets will be confiscated, the court said.
Shen took advantage of his posts as Communist Party chief of Tengchong County and mayor of Simao City in Yunnan to seek benefits for local companies in mergers, iron ore sales and copper exploitation from 2000 to 2012, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
He accepted money and valuables worth about 16.15 million yuan from owners of the companies involved, identified as Duan Zhikui and Bi Sheng, the court said.
Leniency was not given as Shen tried to conceal evidence from the investigation and failed to declare all his illegal gains, although he provided information to judicial organs in other cases.
Many top officials of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) and thousands of middle and low ranking bureaucrats have been prosecuted under the anti-corruption campaign President Xi Jinping launched after taking over in 2013.
