A former official of the Shanxi Provincial Coal Mine Safety Supervision Administration has been jailed for 13 years for taking large bribes and owning a substantial amount of property with unproven resources, a court source said Sunday.

The first verdict was made by the Yingze District Court of Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi. The court found that Diao Min, former chief of the technology and equipment department of the provincial coal mine safety supervision administration, had accepted bribes totaling 1.01 million yuan (approx. US$126,000) and a further US$8,000 by taking advantage of his position between 2001 and 2004.

The court found that Diao took the money to help those making the payments to pass safety examinations and assessments. The court also found that Diao possessed another 3.18 million yuan and couldn't explain where it had come from.

(Xinhua News Agency November 13, 2006)