XIAMEN - A former vice governor of east China's Jiangxi Province has been given a 13-year jail term for taking bribes by a court in east China's Fujian Province on Friday.

The Intermediate People's Court of Xiamen sentenced Yao Mugen to jail and ruled to confiscate personal property worth 3 million yuan (463,000 U.S. dollars) in his first trial.

The court held that Yao took advantage of his position to seek benefits for a local company and others and of accepting money and valuables worth about 23 million yuan.

Yao told the court that he accepted the ruling and would not appeal.

Yao was removed from his post as vice governor in April last year, a month after the Communist Party of China's (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) announced that it had placed him under investigation for suspected violations.

The court said that the sentence was dealt with leniently as Yao confessed his misconduct during the investigation, which included details and evidence that investigators had not obtained. He also returned some of the bribe money and property.