'Brother Watch' official with expensive taste gets 14 years' jail for graft

A former Shaanxi official was sentenced yesterday to 14 years in prison for corruption, in a case that started when outraged internet users posted photos of his expensive watches.

Yang Dacai, the former work safety chief of Shaanxi province, was found guilty of taking bribes of 250,000 yuan (HK$314,000) and holding more than five million yuan in unexplained assets, the Xian Intermediate People's Court said in a verdict that was reported by Xinhua.

For the bribery conviction, Yang, 56, was sentenced to 10 years in jail and fined 50,000 yuan. He received an additional six-year prison term for amassing unexplained wealth, which his family must forfeit.

The court decided to shorten the combined prison term to 14 years. Yang did not appeal against the verdict.

The sentence came six days after Yang pleaded guilty to the charges. Yang said after the sentencing that after decades of hard work, he had turned to crime but now sought a fresh beginning, Xinhua reported.

"It is useless to repent after falling into the abyss of crime, but I sincerely want to confess and regret the crime I committed, and beg the court to give me a brand new start in life," he said.