Ex-Wukan village head admits guilt, gets 3 years in prison

The former head of Wukan village in Guangdong province, Lin Zulian, 72, was sentenced to three years and one month in prison on Sept 8 after he pleaded guilty to bribery.

Lin was also fined 200,000 yuan ($30,000) by the People's Court in Foshan's Chancheng district. The court found him guilty of taking bribes when he served as head of Wukan village from March 2012 to June this year.

Lin was elected as the head of the village committee after Wukan grabbed international headlines when its residents staged three large-scale rallies over four months protesting what they said was village officials' illegal land grabs, corruption and violations of financing and election rules.

The rallies came to an end after an agreement was made in face-to-face talks between villagers and senior Guangdong provincial officials.

During the hearing on Sept 8, Lin was charged by prosecutors with taking a bribe of 443,000 yuan after he allegedly used his power to help contractors who undertook projects in Wukan. He was also alleged to have accepted a kickback of 150,000 yuan when the village purchased several ships.

Lin admitted to the bribery charges in court but denied the charge of collusion. While the court found him guilty of bribery, it rejected the other charge.