Former Inner Mongolia senior political advisor sentenced for life

Ma Ming, former vice-chairman of the Inner Mongolia Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was sentenced to life imprisonment for taking bribes amounting to 157.85 million yuan ($24.91 million).

The verdict, which also saw Ma's political rights removed and personal property confiscated, was announced by the Shandong province's Zibo Intermediate People's Court on Thursday.

The court said Ma took advantage of his job to illegally assist individuals with their company operation, position adjustment and case handling.

From 2000 to 2019, Ma headed several posts, including head of Jilin's commerce department, vice-governor of the province and head of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region's public security department, the court said.

The court said Ma's behavior seriously violated the integrity of government worker's duty as he accepted huge amounts of bribes over a large period.

As Ma confessed to accepting more than 150.71 million yuan that had not been discovered by authorities and offered tip-offs, the court took lighter punishment into consideration.