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 Thursday after he pleaded guilty to bribery, local media reported on Thursday.

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 between March 2012 and June this year, news portal southcn.com reported.

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.