A former executive vice-governor of Jiangsu province has been given 12 years in prison for bribery.

Li Yunfeng was sentenced on Thursday at Heze Intermediate People's Court in Shandong province and fined 1.5 million yuan ($237,310), according to a statement from the court.

From 2003 to 2014, Li received more than 14.77 million yuan in bribes in exchange for helping others win construction projects and earn promotions.

"Considering Li plead guilty with a contrite attitude and returned all the illicit assets he received, we decided to show leniency in line with Criminal Law," the statement read.

Li was the subject of a disciplinary investigation in 2016 that saw him removed from the Party in October. The Shandong court heard his case in public on Feb 8.