Son of Zhou Yongkang sentenced to 18 years in prison

YICHANG, Hubei - A court in central China's Hubei Province on Wednesday sentenced Zhou Bin, son of Zhou Yongkang, to 18 years in prison for taking bribes and illegal business operations.

Zhou Bin was also fined 350.2 million yuan (53 million U.S. dollars) and all of his illegally obtained assets will be confiscated, according to the verdict of Yichang City Intermediate People's Court.

Zhou Bin and his father Zhou Yongkang sought benefits for others by taking advantage of Zhou Yongkang's posts, and accepted property to the value of 98 million yuan.

In collaboration with others, Zhou Bin used his father's influence to obtain advantages for others through other officials and accepted property to the amount of 124 million yuan.

Zhou Bin violated the state regulations by doing business in restricted items, disturbing the market order, the verdict said.

Zhou Yongkang was a former member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

In July 2014, the CPC Central Committee announced a decision to put Zhou Yongkang under investigation, and he was expelled from the CPC in December 2014.

On June 11, 2015, Zhou Yongkang was sentenced to life imprisonment for accepting bribes, abusing his power and deliberately disclosing state secrets.