Beijing official sentenced to life on corruption charges

A former senior Beijing city government official has been jailed for life after accepting five apartments from development companies in return for helping with planning and construction permits, according to state news agnecy Xinhua.

Xu Shuying, 68, used his position as deputy head of Haidian District government from 1995 to 2003 to s"eek illegal gains", according to the report of the First Intermediate People's Court of Beijing proceedings.

Mr Xu was in charge of urban construction in the district when he accepted two apartments worth CNY 2.23 million (US$ 327000) from property developer Taiyue, and a further two from other companies.

The court heard that Mr Xu also demanded an apartment as a bribe from another company, with the total value of the five homes exceeding CNY 6.29 million (US$ 922300).

The investigation into Mr Xu stated in March last year after a tip off to the local authorities that he had accepted an apartment from Taiyue. When questioned, said the report, Mr Xu then confessed to accepting the other four apartments.

The court told Mr Xu he was being treated "with leniency" because he had confessed to the crimes and "all illegal gains had been seized".