Former vice governor of Hainan sentenced to 12 years for corruption

TIANJIN - Ji Wenlin, former vice governor of South China's Hainan province, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for corruption on Wednesday.

The Tianjin No 1 Intermediate People's Court handed down the first trial sentence and ordered 1 million yuan ($154,000) in fines.

During the trial, the court heard that Ji took advantage of his posts in Southwest China's Sichuan province, the Ministry of Public Security and Hainan, to seek benefits for others.

He also demanded and received a huge amount of bribes and assets, which investigators suggest could be worth around 20 million yuan.

The court said a lenient sentence was given because Ji confessed to his wrongdoings, turned in bribes and exposed other criminal evidence during the investigation.

Ji, 50, was elected vice governor of Hainan province in January, 2013. He was removed from office and put under investigation by discipline authorities in February, 2014.

This is the latest in a series of trials of former high-ranking officials netted in China's anti-corruption campaign. Li Dongsheng, former vice minister of Public Security, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for accepting bribes in January. Jiang Jiemin, former head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, was sentenced to 16 years in prison in October last year.