NINGBO, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese court on Thursday convicted Xu Chuanzhi, previously a senior disciplinary inspector, of taking bribes and sentenced him to 12 years in prison.
Xu, a former senior member of a disciplinary inspection team of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, was fined 2.5 million yuan (about 370,000 U.S. dollars), according to a verdict issued by the Intermediate People's Court of the city of Ningbo in east China's Zhejiang Province.
All illicit gains and related proceeds will be recovered and turned over to the state treasury, the court said.
From 2001 to 2023, Xu took advantage of his official positions to provide assistance to relevant organizations and individuals in matters such as project contracting, handling of cases and personnel arrangements. In return, he accepted money and property worth 10.72 million yuan, either personally or through a third party, the verdict noted.
From 2023 to 2025, after his retirement, Xu also used the influence derived from his former positions via the acts of other state functionaries to help others in project contracting. In exchange, he accepted another 25.87 million yuan in bribes, the court ruling said.
The court said Xu received a lenient sentence because he truthfully confessed to his crimes and disclosed additional bribery facts previously unknown to investigators, while some of the bribery offenses were attempted rather than completed. He had also pleaded guilty, expressed remorse, and actively returned illicit gains, with almost all illegal proceeds already recovered, the ruling said.
The court stated that these circumstances warranted leniency in sentencing.
The case was heard publicly on July 23. ■
