Former senior official jailed for 12 years for graft

NANCHANG - Li Chongxi, former head of Sichuan province's political advisory body in southwest China, was sentenced to 12 years in jail on Tuesday for taking bribes worth around 11.1 million yuan ($1.75 million).

One million yuan worth of Li's assets will be confiscated, according to the verdict by a court in Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province.

A digital recorder used by Li was also confiscated, the court said without elaborating.

From March 2007 to February 2012, Li took advantage of his posts as deputy head of Communist Party of China (CPC)'s Sichuan provincial committee, head of CPC's Sichuan disciplinary agency, deputy head and Party chief of the provincial legislature to seek benefits for local companies acquiring state land exploration rights and sought promotion for individuals, the verdict read.

Li accepted money and valuables worth about 11.1 million yuan either by himself or via his wife Li Mingyu from May 2006 to August 2012, according to the verdict.

Leniency was given to the 64-year-old because he has confessed a considerable part of his criminal conduct voluntarily and submitted all his illegal gains, it read.

Li said at the court that he would not appeal the case.

Prosecutors announced an investigation into Li in September 2014, when he was removed from his post and expelled from the CPC.