HANGZHOU - Xu Xiaogang, former vice director of the provincial public security department of east China's Jiangxi Province, was sentenced to life imprisonment for graft and illegal possession of guns on Monday afternoon.

To ensure an impartial hearing, the trial was held by the people's court of Quzhou in east China's Zhejiang Province on February 15.

Xu, 56, was convicted of taking bribes of 4 million yuan (US$519,025.6), 231,500 HK dollars, 70,000 US dollars and 10,000 Euros during his tenure as vice director of the public security department of Jiangxi from 1997 to 2005. After 2005 he worked as vice director of the Press and Publications Bureau of Jiangxi,

The court heard that Xu provided a "safety umbrella" for Xiong Xinxing, the head of a criminal gang who was sentenced to death and executed on January 11. In return Xu received 850,000 yuan (US$108,974.4), 10,000 US dollars and two jade bracelets worth of 82,000 yuan (US$10,512.8) from Xiong.

The court also found that Xu, a fan of hunting, possessed six guns in his office and home. The weapons were confiscated by the public security bureau of Jiangxi.

Xu was arrested on May 11, 2006.