A former Jilin Provincial Coal Industry Bureau official has been jailed for 10 years for accepting bribes, a local court said on Wednesday.

Li Xiang, the bureau's former deputy head, was charged with taking bribes of 628,000 yuan (88,451 U.S. dollars) and 4,000 U.S. dollars and taking advantage of his post between 2003 and August 2007, according to a Songyuan Municipal Intermediate People's Court ruling.

He was also fined 50,000 yuan and had all his illegal gains confiscated, the court said.

Jilin Provincial Coal Industry Bureau, also called Jilin Coal Mine Safety Supervision Administration, is responsible for coal mine safety supervision, accident handling and licensing.

(Xinhua News Agency March 13, 2008)