Former senior official jailed for 12 years for graft

The former top political advisor in Southwest China's Sichuan province was sentenced to 12 years in prison for corruption, state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) reported via its official microblog on Tuesday.

Li Chongxi, former chairman of the Sichuan provincial committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was also fined one million yuan ($157,800), according to the intermediate court of Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi province. All his properties originating from bribery will be confiscated, said the court.

Prosecutors accused Li of taking advantage of his posts to seek benefits for local companies and accepting money and valuables worth about 11 million yuan ($1.7 million).

Prosecutors announced an investigation into Li in Sept 2014, when he was removed from his post and expelled from the Communist Party of China. Li was indicted on corruption charges in April.