Former senior Chinese provincial official jailed for life for graft

A Chinese court has jailed for life a former vice governor of the wealthy southern province of Guangdong for corruption after finding him guilty of bribery and abuse of power, state media said on Thursday.

The court in the southern city of Nanning found that Liu Zhigeng took 98 million yuan ($14.43 million) in bribes between 1993 and 2012 while serving in a variety of positions in Guangdong, an export powerhouse that borders Hong Kong.

Liu admitted his guilt and has repented, the court said, according to reports of the court's judgment carried by state television and the official People's Daily.

It was not possible to reach a family or legal representative for comment.

President Xi Jinping has embarked on a sweeping anti-corruption campaign, targeting a raft of high-ranking officials in industry and government, saying that the problem is so bad it could affect the Communist Party's grip on power.

($1 = 6.7925 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)