Former senior provincial legislator stands trial for bribery, election sabotage

HARBIN -- Wang Yang, a former senior legislator in Northeast China's Liaoning province, went on trial for accepting bribes and electoral fraud on Friday.

Wang, former deputy head of the Standing Committee of Liaoning Provincial People's Congress, was accused of taking advantage of his position to seek benefits for others and of accepting money and valuables worth more than 62.9 million yuan ($9 million) between the end of 2006 and January 2013.

Prosecutors also accused Wang of sabotaging an election when he was running for deputy head of the standing committee of the provincial people's congress from December 2012 to January 2013, saying he had engaged in fraud by offering bribes and lobbying.

The case was tried at the Intermediate People's Court of Daqing City in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province.

Wang confessed to his crimes during the trial, according to the court. Sentence will be announced at a later date.