Former chief of China's Sinopec gets 15 years for graft

BEIJING: A former chief of China's state-run energy giant Sinopec was today sentenced to 15 and a half years in prison and fined nearly USD 470,000 for accepting bribes and illegally possessing assets.

Wang Tianpu, former general manager of oil giant China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec Group), was handed down a 15 and a half years prison sentence by the Nanchang City Intermediate People's Court in east China's Jiangxi Province.

The court also imposed a fine of 3.2 million yuan (around USD 468,300) on Wang and ordered all his illicit gains to be confiscated, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

The court found that from 2003 to 2014, Wang took advantage of his various positions to help others with business operations, project undertaking and job placement.

He asked for and illegally accepted money and property worth over 33.4 million yuan and illegally possessed state-owned assets worth almost 800,000 yuan, according to the court.

The court showed leniency, taking into consideration his confession, remorse and the fact that he voluntarily turned over all his proceeds.

President Xi Jinping launched a much-publicised drive against corruption after he came to power in 2012, vowing to target both high-level "tigers" and low-ranking "flies".

But critics say a lack of transparency around the purge raises concerns that it could be used by Xi to eliminate political enemies.