China: Former Nanjing mayor sentenced to 15 years in prison

According to BBC, former Mayor of Nanjing City, Mr. Gui Jianye, has just been sentenced to 15 years in prison for corruption.

The Yantai court confirmed that Mr. Gui Jianye had accepted 11.3 million yuan (equivalent to 1.9 million USD) in bribes between 1999 and 2013, before being dismissed from office. The sentence showed "leniency in the punishment, because Mr. Gui had confessed his guilt and repented."

Mr. Quy Kien Nghiep when he was in office. (Photo: Xinhua)

As mayor, Gui Jianye was nicknamed “the bulldozer” for his heavy-handed push for construction and reconstruction in Nanjing. He is the latest high-ranking official to be jailed in President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign.

Mr. Gui Jianye became the powerful mayor of Nanjing in 2010. The capital of Jiangsu province, with a population of about 7 million, was investigated in January 2013 for suspected “serious violations of discipline and law.” He was arrested and expelled from the Party last year.

Last week, former security chief Zhou Yongkang, once one of China's most powerful figures, was charged with bribery, abuse of power and revealing state secrets./.

According to VNA