Ex-justice vice-minister gets 13 years for bribery

Liu Zhiqiang, a former vice-minister of justice, has been sentenced to 13 years in prison and fined 3 million yuan ($418,000) for taking bribes exceeding 42.45 million yuan, a court in eastern China announced on Tuesday.

The Wuhu Intermediate People's Court in Anhui province also ordered that Liu's illicit gains and related interests be turned over to the State treasury.

The court found that from 2007 to April last year, Liu used positions including head of the international cooperation division with the Ministry of Public Security and deputy head of the Ministry of Justice to seek benefits for others in matters such as business operations, project contracting and job promotions. In return, he received bribes totaling more than 42.45 million yuan.

Liu's actions constituted the crime of taking bribes, with the amount described by the court as "extremely large". However, the court showed leniency because he confessed, voluntarily reported bribes unknown to investigators and actively returned illicit gains.

Publicly available records show Liu, 62, is a native of Shandong province who began his career in 1984. He worked for the Ministry of Public Security for decades before serving as vice-governor of Qinghai province in 2012.

In January 2016, Liu was appointed deputy head of the Ministry of Justice. He was placed under investigation in April last year and expelled from the Communist Party of China in October.