The Beijing High People's Court -- an appellate court -- affirmed on Wednesday the conviction and sentence of former Guizhou Province Party Secretary Liu Fangren.

The court found that sufficient evidence was presented at trial to prove that Liu misused his power to seek personal gain and that he accepted bribes.

Liu was found guilty of taking bribes on 22 separate occasions totaling 6.8 million yuan (US$ 820,000) between March 1995 and February 2002.

The incidents occurred when he was Party secretary of Guizhou Province and chairman of the Standing Committee of the Guizhou Provincial People's Congress.

The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court sentenced the 68-year-old Liu on June 29 to life imprisonment.

Liu's personal property has been confiscated.

Liu was the Party chief of Guizhou Province from 1993 to 2001 and appointed vice chairman of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress in April 2002.

He was expelled from the Chinese Communist Party and handed over to judicial authorities last April.

(China Daily August 5, 2004)