Wang given 'lenient' sentence of 15 years

WANG LIJUN, the one-time police chief and close ally of ousted Communist leader Bo Xilai, has been jailed for 15 years on charges of defection and bribery, and for trying cover up the November 2011 murder of British businessman Neil Heywood by Mr Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai.

The sentencing could provide important clues as to the fate awaiting Mr Bo (63), who was in charge of the Chongqing municipality until he was ousted, and what impact all of this could have on the once-in-a-decade leadership transition expected to take place next month.

Defection, corruption and abuse of power are generally capital crimes in China, but the court heard Wang (52) had “exposed clues of major law-breaking and crimes by others” and “rendered a major contribution”, which qualified him for a lighter sentence.

The court heard how Mr Bo apparently beat Wang after he confronted him over the murder allegations, forcing him to flee to the US consulate in Chengdu, a move that prompted China’s worst political scandal in decades.

“This is a show trial and it means Bo Xilai will get a lenient sentence,” said Willy Wo-Lap Lam, a professor at Hong Kong’s Chinese University. “The sentence was surprisingly lenient. For any other people charged with such serious crimes and corruption, they would at least have received a suspended death sentence.”

He believes there will be no criminal charge against Mr Bo, but instead there would be internal party disciplinary proceedings.

He Bing, professor of law at the China University of Political Science and Law, believes that Mr Bo could face criminal charges for taking bribes and that he may be sentenced to life imprisonment or even the death penalty. He expects this to happen before the 18th party congress.