A FORMER official has been sentenced to 11 years in jail for illegally taking HK$23.1 million (US$2.94 million) and 4.64 million yuan (US$678,759) in bribes, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported Thursday.

Zhang Shiming, former chief of the land resources bureau and director of the transport commission, was arrested in August 2016. Zhang, taking advantage of his positions, had sought illegitimate benefits for others and illegally accepted others’ property.

In 2007, Zhang, taking advantage of his position as chief of the land resources bureau, offered a company assistance with land replacement and land price calculation, and received HK$2 million from the company.

From 2008 to 2009, Zhang helped a local industrial raw materials company evade an investigation for illegal land use.

At a dinner party at the end of 2008, the chairman of the company gave Zhang a handbag as a token of gratitude. Zhang took the handbag home and his wife found that it contained HK$8 million in cash.

Zhang also helped other companies seek illegitimate benefits between 2005 and 2014, and took HK$7 million in bribes.

Between 2005 and 2009, Zhang took a HK$2.8 million bribe from a real estate company. His wife then bought a residential property from the company for more than 1.9 million yuan below the market price.

Zhang pleaded guilty and returned all of the illicit money. He was also fined of 1.5 million yuan. Zhang’s wife was sentenced in June to three years in jail and five years on probation and faced a fine of 200,000 yuan.

(Zhang Yu)