Chiantopix, via Associated Press
Wang Lijun during a news conference in 2008.
BEIJING (Reuters) - China will put the ex-police chief at the heart of its biggest political scandal in decades on trial for crimes including defection and taking bribes, state media said on Wednesday, opening a new phase in a case that rattled the Communist Party succession.
Wang Lijun fled to a U.S. consulate in southwestern China in February, days after his dismissal as police chief of Chongqing, the nearby municipality then run by the ambitious politician Bo Xilai who had raised Wang to prominence as a crime gang-buster.
The official Xinhua news agency appeared to end rumors that Wang could be treated lightly for exposing Bo＇s misdeeds while inside the consulate, and it laid out the four charges against Wang - defection, taking bribes, bending the law for selfish ends and abusing power.
The Xinhua account indicated that Wang had initially gone along with the attempted cover-up of the murder in November of a British businessman, Neil Heywood, by Bo＇s wife, Gu Kailai.
Wang "consciously neglected his duty and bent the law for personal gain so that Bogu Kailai would not be held legally responsible," said Xinhua, citing the prosecutor＇s indictment.
Bogu is Gu Kailai＇s official but rarely used surname.
The report did not say whether Wang intended to contest any of the charges. But China＇s courts rarely find in favor of defendants.
The announcement came during a tense political season for the ruling Communist Party, which is preparing for a once-in-a-decade leadership succession that will see the retirement of President Hu Jintao at a congress in coming weeks or months.
Bo was widely seen as an ambitious aspirant for a spot in the next central leadership, wielding his charisma, vows of more equal growth and his crime-fighting record in Chongqing to build up a formidable public following.
Wang stayed inside the U.S. consulate for about 24 hours before leaving, and sources have said he told U.S. diplomats and later Chinese officials that he believed Bo＇s wife, Gu, was behind the murder of Heywood after a business dispute that spiraled into a deadly rage.
The Xinhua announcement also said Wang had abused investigation techniques, an accusation that may reflect rumors that he had bugged other officials, including central officials.
Bo was dismissed from his Chongqing post in March and remains out of sight, though he has yet to face charges. His wife was given a suspended death sentence on August 9 on charges of poisoning Heywood. |
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