Former Hainan vice governor gets life sentence for corruption

GUANGZHOU -- A Chinese court on Thursday sentenced Tan Li, former vice governor of Hainan province, to life imprisonment for taking bribes.

Tan was also deprived of his political rights for life and all his personal assets shall be confiscated, according to a statement from the Guangzhou City Intermediate People's Court.

The ill-gotten gains were turned over to the state, the court ruling said.

The court found that between 2001 and 2014, Tan took advantage of his various posts in Sichuan and Hainan provinces to seek benefits for others in respects of enterprise development, project construction and arbitration award implementation.

In return, he accepted money or gifts amounting 86.25 million yuan (around $12.8 million dollars) personally or through some "affiliated persons", the court said.

The court convicted Tan of crime of taking bribes. However, it added that the sentence of Tan has taken into account of the facts that Tan has "truthfully confessed" to his crimes, including many acts yet to be discovered by the investigators at the time, and that he showed repentance and was cooperative in surrendering his illegal gains.