Gansu official sentenced to life imprisonment

Zhang Guohua, former deputy director of the land and resources department of Gansu province, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Wednesday for taking 4.28 million yuan ($672,000) in bribes and possessing 9.73 million yuan worth of property from unidentified sources.

The ruling was handed down by the Intermediate People's Court of Lanzhou in Gansu province.

Zhang was the vice-mayor of Tianshui, a city in the southeast part of the province, and then deputy director of the land and resources bureau of Gansu province from April 2001 to March 2011.

He was in charge of agriculture and urban construction and used his position for personal gain through contracting projects, bank loan applications and land use rights.

Zhang, on his own or with his wife Liu Shuping, accepted bribes of 4.28 million during these years.

He also interfered with mine resources exploitation, personnel employment and civil economic disputes.

His wife was sentenced last month to 11 years in jail for accepting bribes of 650,000 yuan.