CHENGDU, Jan. 4 -- The former Party chief of a city struck by an earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan Province has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for corruption, the local government said.

Xu Mengjia, former secretary of Ya'an municipal committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), was convicted and imprisoned by Dazhou Municipal Intermediate People's Court on Dec. 31, the city government confirmed on Sunday.

Xu had helped others obtain benefits by taking advantage of his post in accepted bribes worth 5.5 million yuan (898,000 U.S. dollars) from many companies between 2009 and 2013. During the period, Xu was found to have abused his power in several land development projects.

Xu worked in Ya'an from June 2006 to mid-November last year when he was removed from his post.

A 7.0-magnitude quake hit the city in April last year, leaving 196 dead and thousands injured.