Former Henan official sentenced for graft

JINAN - Qin Yuhai, former deputy director of Henan Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee, was sentenced Monday to 13 years and six months in prison for accepting bribes.

The sentence was handed down by Zibo Intermediate People's Court of Shandong Province.

The court also imposed a fine of two million yuan (289,600 US dollars) on Qin and ordered all his illicit gains to be confiscated.

The court found Qin guilty of seeking benefits and accepting a "huge amount of bribes," in excess of 20.86 million yuan, while serving as Party chief of Jiaozuo City, Henan; vice governor of Henan; head of the provincial public security department; and deputy director of Henan Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee.

The court ruled that Qin's acts were graft, but added that his voluntary confession, remorse and the fact he returned his illegal gains to the authorities were taken into consideration when deciding on a verdict.