Former senior political advisor of China's Guizhou sentenced to life imprisonment

CHONGQING - A Chinese court on Tuesday sentenced Zhou Jiankun, a former vice-chairman of the Guizhou Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, to life in prison on charges of accepting bribes.

Zhou has been deprived of political rights for life, and all of his personal property will be confiscated, according to the verdict of the First Intermediate People's Court of Chongqing Municipality.

All of Zhou's illegal gains will be recovered and turned over to the state treasury, according to the court ruling.

The court found that Zhou took undue advantage of his various positions in Guizhou to seek benefits for relevant units and individuals in business operations, project contracting, project approval and other matters from 1999 to 2022, and accepted money and valuables worth over 108 million yuan (about $15.22 million) in return.

Given that Zhou truthfully confessed his crime, reported most of the facts unknown to supervisory authorities, expressed remorse and returned his illicit gains, he was given a lighter punishment, according to the court.