Zhang Guang, former vice-president of Beihang University, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, along with a fine of 2 million yuan ($272,752), for bribery, a court in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, announced on Friday.

Zhang's illicit gains and relevant interests have also been confiscated and will be turned over to the national treasury, according to the ruling made by the Nanchang Intermediate People's Court.

After an investigation, the court found Zhang, from 2008 to 2022, took advantage of his positions in the university, including head of its continuing education school, assistant to its president and vice-president, to seek profits for others in various matters such as business operation, enrollment, recruitment and work promotion, and then accepted bribes worth more than 21.2 million yuan in return.

Zhang's behavior had constituted the crime of bribery, the court said, adding that he should be harshly punished for his "extremely large" amount of bribes.

Considering he confessed to his offense, voluntarily disclosed bribery activities unknown to investigators and returned his ill-gotten gains, the court added that it made the decision of leniently penalizing him.

Public information shows that Zhang, 51, a native of Heilongjiang province, was placed under disciplinary and supervisory investigation in August 2023.

At the beginning of 2024, he was expelled from the Communist Party of China and dismissed from public office.

Four months later, he was indicted on the charge of bribery. In October, the court publicly heard his case.