A former Communist Party of China village chief in the southern province of Guangdong was sentenced on Thursday to three years and one month in prison for accepting bribes.

Lin Zulian was charged with accepting bribes totalling 593,000 yuan (89,000 U.S. dollars) from others to influence livelihood and economic projects in Wukan village when he headed the village committee.

Chancheng District People's Court in Foshan City also fined Lin 200,000 yuan.

Lin confessed to accepting the bribes at the trial and expressed deep remorse. He said he respected the court verdict and will not appeal.

Home to 13,000 residents, Wukan was thrown into the international spotlight in 2011 when residents protested for months against the village committee for illegal land grabs, corruption, and violations of financing and election rules. Lin was appointed the new CPC chief of the village after the event.

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