Ex-senior official gets 8 years for bribery

Ai Wenli, a former senior political adviser in Hebei province, was sentenced by a court in Jiangsu province to eight years in jail on Thursday for accepting bribes.

He was also fined 3 million yuan($447,000). Property he obtained through bribery will be seized and handed over to the State treasury, according to a statement by the Suzhou Intermediate People's Court.

Ai was found to have abused his power from 2005 to 2013, while serving in various posts, including mayor and Party chief of Chengde, Hebei province; mayor of Shijiazhuang, Hebei; and head of the publicity department of the Hebei Committee of the Communist Party of China.