CHANGSHA -- A former mayor in central China's Hunan Province who made headlines for drug use has been sentenced to seven years in prison on corruption charges.

The Intermediate People's Court in Yueyang City handed down the verdict Friday to Gong Weiguo, former mayor of Linxiang City, after convicting him of taking bribes and abuse of power.

Gong was put under investigation by police following accusations he had used drugs in April 2015. Months later, he was expelled from the Communist Party of China and removed from his public post for "serious disciplinary violations," including corruption and his drug use.

The court found that Gong accepted bribes worth 1.5 million yuan ($230,000) and in return helped others obtain benefits from 2007 to 2015, when he worked in the cities of Miluo, Yueyang and Linxiang.

In addition, he illegally exempted real estate developers from administrative fees, resulting in government losses of nearly 16 million yuan.

Gong was also fined 300,000 yuan and had his illegal gains confiscated.