A Beijing court on Sunday upheld the life sentence for Song Jianguo, former head of the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau for bribe taking.
According to Beijing Higher People's Court, Song took advantage of his position by helping companies and individuals obtain car license plates with the in-demand prefix of Jing A and accepted bribes worth more than 23 million yuan (3.53 million U.S. dollars) between 2004 and 2014.
The Jing A (Jing is a Chinese character representing Beijing) plates are considered privileged by many because they are mostly owned by the government and public institutions.
They were the first batch of plates issued in the 1990s when private cars were rare, though they enjoy no actual privilege on the road. Many affluent residents pursue them out of vanity, industry insiders said.
Song is convicted of buying two properties for his mistress at prices much lower than market ones, and accepting two shops worth more than 4 million yuan. Song also shared profits with a painting dealer, who sold paintings to the people Song had introduced.
Song was detained in August 2014 and officially arrested in the following month. He was sentenced to life in prison in the first instance in November but appealed later.
