China provincial official gets 12 years for corruption

By Mahmut Atanur

BEIJING (AA) – A former official from China's central Hunan province has been sentenced to 12 years for corruption and abuse of power after being convicted of accepting more than $555,000 in bribes.

State news agency Xinhua reported Saturday that Ma Yong, a former deputy secretary-general of the Communist Party of China’s provincial committee, was also stripped of his personal assets of 1 million yuan ($150,000) after reportedly confessing in court.

He had been accused of “causing great loss to the country” by arranging the return to property developers of land transfer revenue worth 5.8 million yuan.

The court also said Ma had requested that court personnel hand light sentences to defendants in murder cases in 2012 and 2013 upon receiving 100,000 yuan and a 100-g gold bar, worth 33,000 yuan, from their families.

Since President Xi Jinping launched an anti-corruption campaign in 2013, tens of thousands of suspects have been investigated, including dozens of high-profile individuals at the top of the Party.

Earlier this month, China’s top anti-graft watchdog announced that 163,000 officials -- including 41 at provincial and ministerial levels -- were penalized this year for violating Party political discipline.

According to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, 336,000 people were punished last year, with the cases of 14,000 submitted to the judiciary for suspected criminal activity.