Former vice governor of northeast China's Liaoning Province Liu Ketian was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Friday for taking bribes, the China Business Morning View reported.

The Liaoning High People's Court upheld the verdict reached by the Anshan Intermediate People's Court in early February, finding that Liu took advantage of his post and received bribes of more than 1.3 million yuan (US$157,000).

Liu's attorney Song Shaofu said they would take the appeal to a higher court.

Born in 1951 in Shenyang, the provincial capital, Liu became Shenyang's vice mayor in August 1990. In February 1995, he was promoted to the post of vice governor.

The Central Discipline Inspection Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued a notice in November 2003 concerning Liu's violations of CPC discipline and Chinese law.

In eastern China on Friday, Li Tianyi, vice mayor of Quanzhou, Fujian Province, was removed from office for alleged involvement in economic crimes, the China News Service reported.

In recent years, a number of high-ranking officials have been found guilty of various crimes and received punishment as the central government strengthens the fight against corruption. The country is also taking measures to prevent corrupt officials from fleeing abroad.

(China Daily April 4, 2005)