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Subscribe to RSSThe wife of a disgraced Chinese politician has been given a suspended death sentence for her role in the death of British businessman, Neil Heywood. ITV's Angus Walker reports.
Updated at 2:30 a.m. ET: BEIJING — The wife of Bo Xilai, the former high-flying Chinese politician, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve after being found guilty Monday of murdering a British businessman, marking the swift descent of a man who was once one of China's most powerful figures.
The sentence means Gu Kailai is likely to face life in prison, provided she does not commit offenses in the next two years, Reuters reported.
Zhang Xiaojun, a Bo family aide who admitted to helping Gu with the murder, received a nine-year jail sentence, a witness to the hearing said. Non-official media were not allowed in the courtroom.
Witnesses said that neither would appeal the decision.
Gu's prosecution in the killing of Neil Heywood was the first step in Beijing's efforts to resolve the biggest political scandal to hit China in decades. Bo, the former party secretary for the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing, had been a controversial figure in Chinese politics with his embrace of Marxist policies and his liberal use of local police to silence critics.
After wife's conviction, what next for Bo Xilai?
The high-profile case shed unwanted light on high-level government corruption and murder by Chinese Communist Party elite. With party leaders already highly sensitive to the public perception of instability and corruption within their ranks, the scandal broke as Beijing prepared for a once-a-decade leadership change.
The conviction of Gu, 53, was all but ensured when the murder charges were released by state media with reassurances from unnamed investigators that there was ample evidence to convict.
Alexander F. Yuan / AP file
Former Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai, right, and his wife, Gu Kailai, at a government ceremony in Beijing in 2007.
Scandal sends China's netizens into a feeding frenzy
"The facts of the two defendants' crime are clear," the investigator told China's official state news agency, Xinhua, late last month. "The evidence is irrefutable and substantial."
What remained to be seen, though, was how the Communist Party would punish one of its own — the wife of a man many experts once considered a serious candidate for China's all-powerful nine-person standing committee.
The answer was hinted at in the carefully composed narrative that has come out in the Chinese media about the case. During the one-day trial Aug. 9, the premeditated way Gu Kailai planned and carried out the murder of her former business partner was clearly evidenced, but it was steeped in justifications and rationalizations — so much so that by the end of Xinhua's account, Gu came off as a protective mother pushed to the edge.
Business dispute?
Heywood, 41, allegedly had become embroiled in a business dispute over a deal he entered into with Gu's son, Bo Guagua. When that business venture fell apart, Heywood allegedly sent a menacing email saying he would "destroy" Gu unless he was paid the tens of millions of dollars he believed he was owed from the deal.
China's most politically explosive trial rapped in a matter of hours when Gu Kailai, the wife of Chinese politician Bo Xilai, did not object to murder charges against her. ITV's Angus Walker reports.
He then allegedly locked the 24-year old in a house in Britain.
"The few days last November, when I learned my son's life was at death's door, my mind indeed collapsed," Gu said, according to Xinhua. It was then, suffering from "chronic insomnia, anxiety and depression, and paranoia," according to an expert panel, that Gu decided she had to kill Heywood to protect her son.
"To me, that [Heywood's email] was more than a threat. It was real action that was taking place," Gu testified, "I must fight to my death to stop the craziness of Neil Heywood."
Allegedly enlisting the help of Zhang, her former family employee and an ex-soldier, Gu lured Heywood to Chongqing with the intention of poisoning him. On Nov. 13, Gu and Heywood had dinner before driving back to the villa he was staying at in the Nanshan Lijing resort.
China puts cops on trial for 'bending the law' to help wife of ousted politician
There, the two drank whisky and tea until Heywood became drunk and vomited. Zhang then entered the room and helped Heywood to his bed while also allegedly slipping two vials — one filled with a cyanide compound and another of a different drug — of poison to Gu that she had procured earlier. When Heywood asked for water, Gu allegedly poured the poison into his mouth.
Stringer / China / Reuters
A combination of two photographs shows British businessman Neil Heywood and Gu Kailai.
The next day, Gu told Wang Lijun, Chongqing's police chief and a trusted ally of Bo Xilai, of the killing.
Wang secretly recorded the conversation but also helped to cover up the murder. In response to inquiries by the British government and the Heywood family, Chongqing police reported the death as an accident due to alcohol poisoning.
Gu may have gotten away with murder, but she couldn't anticipate what came next: a falling-out between Wang and Bo Xilai that led the police chief to flee in March to the U.S. consulate in Chengdu, where he sought asylum. There, with U.S. officials present, Wang dropped the bombshell about Gu's involvement in Heywood's murder.
Wang's explosive accusation and his taped evidence forced the Ministry of Public Security to reopen the case and may have sealed his own fate. Xinhua's account ominously noted that his entry to the U.S. consulate was "without authorization."
Wang's trial is expected soon.
Corruption may be widespread in China, but one official crossed a line when he wiretapped President Hu Jin Tau. Now that official's wife is a murder suspect. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.
City divided by disgraced Communist leader's legacy
More questions than answers
Those who knew Heywood well have raised serious questions about the chain of events laid out by the Chinese courts. Could Heywood, who has been described as a gentleman and generally not violent, have really threatened Gu's son? Did Gu Kailai truly have a mental breakdown? Or was this a convenient way for the Communist Party to distance itself?
Officials: Chinese serial killer shot dead after massive manhunt
More important, what does the sentence bode for Bo? He's under house arrest while under investigation. Does his wife's show trial signal the end of the public phase of this scandal? Will Bo be disciplined internally by the Communist Party? Or will he also get his day in court?
The fact that Bo's name doesn't come up in Xinhua's account bodes well for his chances of riding out this storm. But in the opaque world of Chinese Communist Party politics, it will likely be a fruitless endeavor reconciling the official party narrative with what actually happened.
Top China politician's wife named as murder suspect
Professor Jerome Cohen, a leading authority on Chinese law at New York University, called the court decision a "typical Chinese compromise."
"It was a show trial that raised more questions than it answered. The sentence given was anticipated because to execute her immediately would have alienated more numbers of people who still support Bo Xilai or who don't think the trial was telling us the whole story or fair," he told NBC News in a telephone interview.
"This trial demonstrated the need for genuine due process of law in China because this case did not have it, it doesn't show us the involvement of her husband, there are many missing links in the puzzle," he added.
He Weifang, a prominent professor of law at Peking Universitgy, concurs that the court verdict was "absolutely a political decision, not a judicial one." "If the crime were committed by ordinary people, the outcome would have been different," he told NBC News.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
Whew! Now that is over...the Chi-coms can resume their murder of innocent babies....
The Nut doesn't fall Far from the TREE!
This case sounds fishy to me!!! I hope the People of China see through this sham of a case.
I think either Bo Xilai was working for the US and was found out.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been taken over by Capitalist interest and wanted Bo Xilai out of the way.
Either way it means their is a power struggle in China and this could mean the end of the Chinese Communist Party as we now know it.
The biggest question is weather the 99% of Chinese people will allow it to happen.
The current US plan is to empower the countries that border China with jobs and Military power to counter the Chinese Military.
The Job moves from China to Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines this will cause unrest in the Chinese people with lack of jobs. This could cause a new peoples revolution in China who know's what form that would take.
If it works there, will they try it here?
What happen to the "tens of millions of dollars" ?
Not sure, but it is good fodder for a Hollywood movie. It has everything! Politics, possible murder, and sex :)
Anyone else want to do Business with China?? Seems to me this broad will be free for two years and if she doesn't kill any more business people in that time, she will be Free. Seems fair enough.
The 2 year thing is so everyone will forget about her and they will just forgive her too. We'll never hear her name again here anyway. After all she didn't kill anyone important to them...they got his millions and all are happy there.
Jeebus...everything is "made in China" these days...even our news stories!
Communism. Coming to a country near you soon !
(over my dead body folks)
Get the Obama & his cronies out of office now, or ....................................?
How desperate the media is to avoid the economy and the controversy in this country. This is NMBC's big story? Who here really cares? Murder is just hat murder whether it takes place in this country or any other. So what is the big interest in this story.
The only murders the media in this country cares about is white on black.. Anything else they bury to maintain their PC standing. IS the media, Sharpton and Jackson going to protest over the murder of a star athlete who was killed buy a person described as an African American male? Not likely on this site unless they can prove she was part of the Tea Party and he was raping her in self defense.
Of course they don't have to prove anything. ABC's Brian Ross and Harry Reid have taught us that allegations and slander are the same as conviction.
Its not obama who is hurting our country as much.. it is the media.
How desperate the media is to avoid the economy and the controversy in this country. This is NMBC's big story? Who here really cares? Murder is just hat murder whether it takes place in this country or any other. So what is the big interest in this story.
The only murders the media in this country cares about is white on black.. Anything else they bury to maintain their PC standing. IS the media, Sharpton and Jackson going to protest over the murder of a star athlete who was killed buy a person described as an African American male? Not likely on this site unless they can prove she was part of the Tea Party and he was raping her in self defense.
Of course they don't have to prove anything. ABC's Brian Ross and Harry Reid have taught us that allegations and slander are the same as conviction.
Its not obama who is hurting our country as much.. it is the media.
It just makes him try that much harder.
Let this be a lesson to Michelle to stay out of her husbands schemes and stick to screwing with school lunches.
What a Ditz! She saw her husband and other top Communist Party officials murdering Chinese citizens, and thought she could get away with the same on a white foreign guy, without thinking of the diplomatic headaches that would cause.
Man she is evil....
that picture of Bo Xilai... 'so close'
Just keep in mind that nothing in China is as it appears to be. Never take anything Chinese at face value. That is especially true of goods coming from there as well.
I beg to differ, Paduki. I recently purchased a widget from China, which lasted for nearly a week before breaking. Having paid only 22 cents for it, I got my money's worth.
Were it not for people like myself, who buy junk for pennies on the dollar, China would go broke. However, they are thriving.
Now, go load your SUV with poorly-made crap from Walmart, as usual.
So was there some sort of sexual relationship going on that caused what happened, I can't remember. I think they say there was and this story is so weird. Why would she do that, was it that she could not get away from her husband and wanted other men? Murder is not an easy thing and people get caught a lot. I think she is not that smart doing it with the help of another and she didn't even ask him before she did it. There would have been easier ways of doing it and it shows she is not that bright. It sounds like one of the tv shows China has, the women are always using poison to kill someone.
Sadly, the story does not mention the bribes that play a vital role in China's judicial system.
The fact that she has been granted a reprieve, in lieu of execution, speaks volumes, regarding the "decision" that has been released to the public. Two years, may as well be two decades, in a social system that monitors, censors, and controls the flow of information to the general public. Nothing more will be said about the case; no updates, no rexamination of the facts or events.
Having "purchased" her freedom, she is free to undergo plastic surgery, relocate, and to go on with her life as best she can with whatever finances she is allowed access to. Her biggest concern, will be avoiding the family of her slain business partner, who will be actively seeking her whereabouts. So much for justice.
Actually if you read what people are talking about in China as I have because my wife is Chinese the general consensus is that this is not the women. The government has found someone who looks like her and has hidden away the real women. Even the mother and sister has stated that is not her. That's the real politics in China.
why should we be in shock that this happened? the chinese have been doing this and will continue to do this and there is nothing we can do about it. we are china's bitch and they will dictate to the world what they will do and if we do not like it too bad. just like lead in the toys and poison in our dog food the list will grow and grow. this is totally our fault and we should keep our mouths shut and accept the outcomes before china gets mad at us and sends us to bed without our cheap electronic device or infected food from their filthy waters.
Out of all the far more important things going on in the world and NBC has this as front page news for what reason?
Huh, out here in the States we actually let most murderers go, often give them a book deal, and if they were really messed up their very own movie! We have so many bleeding heart screw ups in this country that actually being a criminal is far more beneficial than being a law abiding citizen! Welcome to today's America ran by gutless leaders in the political, social, religious, and legal realms that have no spines. And because of them, we live among one of the largest prison populated countries in the world.
There's a reason China is set and poised to be the next super power of the world folks, they get things done and they have little remorse for murderers, rapists, thieves, and repeat violent criminals. Heck I shouldn't even say repeat because out there you don't get another chance... often.
Reply to proudamericanveteran's statement:
"Its not obama who is hurting our country as much.. it is the media."
All of those trees are blocking your view of the forest, proudamericanveteran.
It is impossible to differentiate O'bama from the media, as they are marching to the same tune.
We shake our heads at the corruption in China, because it is primitive and obvious. Yet, in our own country, the corruption is far greater and more refined. Our government is truly the master of deception when it comes to "delivering the facts to the public". The stories that are provided to our citizens are carefully designed to mislead and redirect. It has become an artform of sorts, perfected over the course of two centuries. The American viewer no longer even questions the dribble that is beamed at them from the television screen. The "facts" are sparce, unsubstantiated, and the viewer is quickly whisked away and onto the next subject before they have time to contemplate the validity of the dribble. The "bad news" is delivered with speed by an attractively manicured model, followed by a "feel good" story that includes a puppy or kitten, and then we are subjected to a subliminal battering, during the commercial break, by paid advertisers at nearly double the volume.
If we weren't nodding in and out of a carefully timed brainwashing stupor, we might have the wherewithall to question why it is occurring.
The British guy did go a little far. No matter the circumstances, this mother saw this British guy holding her son against his will and snapped and took him out. Didn't Liam Neeson do a movie where he killed everybody holding his daughter hostage? As a mother, I can understand. I have an adult son a little younger than hers.
He hardly deserved to be murdered. It's important to remember that Bo's whole family is implicated in massive corruption, including Gu. Sure, the Brit might've been part of that, and getting murdered is probably an occupational hazard if you deal with the corrupt and powerful, but, on the other hand, it's possible that he was also an innocent dupe or a victim.
I doubt his own culpability, if any, helped Gu in the end. She was probably given the suspended death sentence only because she basically plea-bargained (which in China involves admitting guilt or, at least, pleading no contest). She may even have given up the goods on her corrupt husband, too, in exchange for her life. Otherwise, she'd probably be on death row already.
WAKE up guys and girls, it is TWO different person, check out the pics carefully, the chubby one is for hire to die---.
Hello out there, wake up and check the pictures, you have TWO different women, the chubby one was for hire to die---. the ? is, will she get away with it, from the world eyeing the situation.