Dai Daojin, who formerly served as vice-chairman of the Hunan provincial committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was accused of accepting bribes and abusing influence during a first-instance trial on Wednesday by the intermediate people's court of Zhuhai in Guangdong province.

Dai reportedly abused various positions he held from 2000 to 2024 to provide assistance to relevant units and individuals in business operations, project contracting, job adjustment and promotions, and illegally accepting more than 107 million yuan ($14.7 million) in bribes directly or through his relatives, according to the Zhuhai municipal people's procuratorate.

From the second half of 2021 to 2023, after retiring, Dai utilized his former positions such as deputy governor of Hunan province to seek illegal benefits for others in project contracting and settlement of engineering funds. During this period, he illegally accepted over 3.66 million yuan.

During the trial, prosecutors recommended that Dai should be held criminally responsible. Dai made a final statement and expressed guilt and remorse. The court will announce the sentence at a later date.

Guo Yanqi contributed to this story.