2012-09-24
An ex-police chief who exposed China's biggest political scandal in decades is jailed for covering up a murder committed by the wife of his politician boss.
This photo grab from Chinese television CCTV shows ex-police chief Wang Lijun (R) speaking to the court, September 24, 2012.
A court in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu has handed a 15-year jail term to the former police chief of fallen ruling Chinese Communist Party political star Bo Xilai for covering up the murder of a British businessman and for visiting a U.S. diplomatic mission, official media reported.
Wang Lijun, former vice-mayor and police chief of the megacity of Chongqing, was sentenced along with a year's deprivation of political rights after being found guilty of "bending the law for selfish ends, defection, abuse of power and bribe-taking," Xinhua news agency said on Monday.
Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, was last month given a suspended death sentence, effectively life in jail, for poisoning British businessman Neil Heywood last year.
Wang's sentence, announced by the Chengdu Municipal Intermediate People's Court, represented a combined punishment for all offenses, the agency said.
The verdict is seen as another step to a party decision on the fate of Bo, once a candidate for China's top leadership, ahead of a once-in-a-decade leadership handover due at a party congress as early as next month.
Seven years of the sentence was linked to the charge of "bending the law for selfish ends," with a further two years for "abuse of power," both of which were linked to charges that Wang knew that Gu was linked to the murder of Heywood last November, but did not pursue the investigation further.
By contrast, Wang received a sentence of just two years' imprisonment and one year's deprivation of political rights for "defection," a charge linked to his Feb. 6 visit to the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu, during which he reportedly told U.S. officials that Gu was a suspect and that Bo had exploded angrily and demoted his former right-hand man when Wang brought the subject up.
"Despite knowing that [Gu] Kailai was a major suspect in Heywood's murder and having obtained important related evidence, Wang, then chief of Chongqing's Public Security Bureau, bent the law by selecting Guo Weiguo, then deputy chief of the bureau and a close friend of both Wang and [Gu] Kailai, to take charge of the case," Xinhua said.
Confession
Wang had elicited, and even recorded, a confession from Gu of her poisoning of Heywood, but had concealed them from police investigating the Briton's murder at the time, it said.
Wang had fled to the U.S. Consulate on Feb. 6, "feeling that he was in danger," the agency said, and had requested political asylum from the U.S. He left, however, the next day, after being "persuaded" by Chinese officials.
Nine years of the sentence were linked to charges of "bribe-taking," Xinhua said, specifically to two luxury apartments in Beijing that were gifted to Wang by top Dalian-based company executives Xu Ming and Yu Junshi in return for the release of four people held by Chongqing police.
"During that period, Wang received two apartments in Beijing worth 2.85 million yuan (U.S.$449,583) bought by Xu and received a total of 200,000 yuan (U.S. $31,700) from Yu to cover the rent for Wang's villa in Chongqing," Xinhua said, adding that the authorities had now recovered most of the money and property involved.
Wang had already told the court he had no plans to appeal, it said.
The sentences were made lighter by Wang's voluntary decision to leave the U.S. Consulate and hand himself over to Chinese authorities, the agency said, quoting the judgement document from the court. This "could be considered to be voluntary surrender and merit a lighter penalty," it said.
And, in an apparent reference to Bo, who is still under investigation for "serious violations" of Party discipline, Wang's sentence, which carried a maximum penalty of death, was further mitigated by his production of "important clues" that exposed "serious offenses committed by others," the judgement said.
"These clues played a key role in the investigation of other cases," it said.
Gu was handed a suspended death sentence by a court in Anhui province last month for the "intentional homicide" of Heywood, who was found dead in a Chongqing hotel room last November.
Bo was widely regarded as a possible candidate for a post on China's all-powerful Politburo standing committee at a crucial leadership transition later this year, until the scandal surrounding Heywood's death emerged, apparently ending his political career.
Before his visit to the U.S. Consulate brought events in Chongqing into public awareness, Wang was seen and feted as a determined "supercop," even starring in a TV documentary.
Wang's high-profile anti-crime campaigns clocked up thousands of arrests, and sparked widespread accusations of torture sessions and other human rights violations.
Wang Lijun, former vice-mayor and police chief of the megacity of Chongqing, was sentenced along with a year's deprivation of political rights after being found guilty of "bending the law for selfish ends, defection, abuse of power and bribe-taking," Xinhua news agency said on Monday.
Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, was last month given a suspended death sentence, effectively life in jail, for poisoning British businessman Neil Heywood last year.
Wang's sentence, announced by the Chengdu Municipal Intermediate People's Court, represented a combined punishment for all offenses, the agency said.
The verdict is seen as another step to a party decision on the fate of Bo, once a candidate for China's top leadership, ahead of a once-in-a-decade leadership handover due at a party congress as early as next month.
Seven years of the sentence was linked to the charge of "bending the law for selfish ends," with a further two years for "abuse of power," both of which were linked to charges that Wang knew that Gu was linked to the murder of Heywood last November, but did not pursue the investigation further.
By contrast, Wang received a sentence of just two years' imprisonment and one year's deprivation of political rights for "defection," a charge linked to his Feb. 6 visit to the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu, during which he reportedly told U.S. officials that Gu was a suspect and that Bo had exploded angrily and demoted his former right-hand man when Wang brought the subject up.
"Despite knowing that [Gu] Kailai was a major suspect in Heywood's murder and having obtained important related evidence, Wang, then chief of Chongqing's Public Security Bureau, bent the law by selecting Guo Weiguo, then deputy chief of the bureau and a close friend of both Wang and [Gu] Kailai, to take charge of the case," Xinhua said.
Confession
Wang had elicited, and even recorded, a confession from Gu of her poisoning of Heywood, but had concealed them from police investigating the Briton's murder at the time, it said.
Wang had fled to the U.S. Consulate on Feb. 6, "feeling that he was in danger," the agency said, and had requested political asylum from the U.S. He left, however, the next day, after being "persuaded" by Chinese officials.
Nine years of the sentence were linked to charges of "bribe-taking," Xinhua said, specifically to two luxury apartments in Beijing that were gifted to Wang by top Dalian-based company executives Xu Ming and Yu Junshi in return for the release of four people held by Chongqing police.
"During that period, Wang received two apartments in Beijing worth 2.85 million yuan (U.S.$449,583) bought by Xu and received a total of 200,000 yuan (U.S. $31,700) from Yu to cover the rent for Wang's villa in Chongqing," Xinhua said, adding that the authorities had now recovered most of the money and property involved.
Wang had already told the court he had no plans to appeal, it said.
The sentences were made lighter by Wang's voluntary decision to leave the U.S. Consulate and hand himself over to Chinese authorities, the agency said, quoting the judgement document from the court. This "could be considered to be voluntary surrender and merit a lighter penalty," it said.
And, in an apparent reference to Bo, who is still under investigation for "serious violations" of Party discipline, Wang's sentence, which carried a maximum penalty of death, was further mitigated by his production of "important clues" that exposed "serious offenses committed by others," the judgement said.
"These clues played a key role in the investigation of other cases," it said.
Gu was handed a suspended death sentence by a court in Anhui province last month for the "intentional homicide" of Heywood, who was found dead in a Chongqing hotel room last November.
Bo was widely regarded as a possible candidate for a post on China's all-powerful Politburo standing committee at a crucial leadership transition later this year, until the scandal surrounding Heywood's death emerged, apparently ending his political career.
Before his visit to the U.S. Consulate brought events in Chongqing into public awareness, Wang was seen and feted as a determined "supercop," even starring in a TV documentary.
Wang's high-profile anti-crime campaigns clocked up thousands of arrests, and sparked widespread accusations of torture sessions and other human rights violations.
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