This screenshot released by Xinhua shows former vice-chairman of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region government Liu Hongwu (front, center). (PHOTO / XINHUA)

Liu Hongwu, former vice-chairman of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for bribery, a court in Hainan province announced the ruling on Friday.

With a fine of 6 million yuan ($842,000), illicit gains and relevant interests Liu obtained have also been confiscated and turned over to national treasury, according to the verdict made by the No 1 Intermediate People's Court in Hainan.

The court said that, from 2005 to 2022, Liu was found to have taken advantage of his various work posts, including deputy mayor of Beihai, a city in Guangxi, and head of the regional development and reform commission, to provide aids for individuals and departments in matters such as project contracting and land development, accepting bribes in return.

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The sum of bribes involved in the case was over 83.73 million yuan, it added.

"Liu's behavior has constituted the crime of bribery, and he should be harshly punished due to the extremely large amount of bribes," the court said.

"But considering that Liu voluntarily disclosed additional bribery facts that were not previously known to investigators, reported criminal acts against others and did not fully complete some of his bribes, we decided to leniently punish him," it added.

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Liu, 57, a native of Hubei province, started his career in 1989 and joined the Communist Party of China in 1997. He worked as vice-chairman of Guangxi from July 2020 until January 2022, when he was investigated for suspected serious violations of the Party discipline and the law.