E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSUpdated at 4:27 a.m. ET: BEIJING -- China's ruling Communist Party took a big step towards sealing the fate of fallen politician Bo Xilai on Monday, when a court jailed his former police chief for 15 years over charges that indicated Bo tried to derail a murder inquiry.
The court in Chengdu in southwest China handed down the sentence against Wang Lijun after finding him guilty on four charges, including seeking to cover up the November 2011 murder of a British businessman, Neil Heywood, by Bo's wife, Gu Kailai.
The verdict ended the career of one of China's most storied and controversial police officers and moved the party closer to a formal decision on dealing with Bo, whose downfall has shaken a leadership handover due at a party congress as early as next month.
"Wang Lijun exposed clues of major law-breaking and crimes by others," said the court verdict, according to the Xinhua news agency. It did not say who those other people were.
"He rendered a major contribution, and according to the law he can receive a lighter sentence," said the court. Wang could have received life imprisonment, or even a death sentence.
The relatively mild sentence -- following official confirmation that Wang shared incriminating clues and that Bo beat him after Wang confronted him over the murder allegations -- added weight to predictions that the party will move to jail Bo too, said He Weifang, a law professor at Peking University who has closely followed the case.
"The legal net around Bo Xilai has been slowly tightening," said He. "He'll certainly face a criminal trial."
Wife of disgraced Chinese leader gets death sentence with reprieve
In August, Gu was sentenced to a suspended death sentence, which effectively means life in prison.
The 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.
'I let you down'
Experts have offered divided views over whether the party will put Bo before a criminal court or spare him and the leadership that disgrace by simply meting out lighter disciplinary punishment within the party. Some still see that latter course as more likely.
Before Chinese authorities can launch a criminal investigation, the party leadership must first hear the results of an internal investigation and decide whether to hand Bo over. That could happen at a leadership conclave that must take place before the bigger party congress convenes.
The court said Wang, former police chief of southwestern Chongqing municipality, received the sentence for "bending the law for selfish ends, defection, abuse of power and bribe-taking", according to Xinhua.
Wang would not appeal against the sentence, said his lawyer Wang Yuncai, who is not a relative. The sentence could be cut after he serves half his sentence, added Wang, the lawyer. "He accepted the sentence," she said. "He's doing okay."
Xinhua has portrayed Wang as being contrite. "I acknowledge and confess the guilt accused by the prosecuting body and show my repentance," Wang was quoted as saying in court last week. "For the Party organizations, people and relatives that have cared for me, I want to say here, sincerely: I'm very, very sorry, I've let you down."
Read more China coverage in our Behind the Wall blog
The scandal that felled both men erupted after Gu murdered Heywood in a hilltop hotel villa in Chongqing, the city where Bo was the flamboyant party chief. Officials have said the murder arose from a business dispute in Chongqing, which Bo and Wang ran as their fiefdom.
Wang had at first helped Gu evade suspicion of poisoning Heywood, hushing up evidence of the murder, according to the official account of Wang's trial.
Slap that 'changed history'
However, in late January, Wang confronted Bo with the allegation that Gu was suspected of killing Heywood. But Wang was "angrily rebuked and had his ears boxed."
"That was a slap around the ears that changed history," said Li Zhuang, a Beijing lawyer who opposed Wang and Bo for mounting a sweeping crackdown on foes in the name of fighting organized crime. "Otherwise, Bo might still be in power and hoping to rise higher."
Days after the confrontation, Bo stripped Wang of his post as Chongqing police chief. The court verdict said several of Wang's subordinates were "illegally investigated."
Wang, fearing for his safety, fled to the U.S. consulate in Chengdu where he hid for more than 24 hours until Chinese officials coaxed him out.
Rebellious China village's experiment with democracy sours
Wang was found guilty by the court of defecting to a U.S. consulate -- along with taking bribes and conducting illegal surveillance -- but only two years of the 15-year sentence were that offense.
It was then that Wang exposed Heywood's murder first to American diplomats and then to Chinese authorities, handing over evidence used to convict Gu last month.
"When mafia members break up with their bosses, they can attempt to seek police protection. But in Chongqing and for the former police boss, there was nowhere to turn," prominent editor Hu Shuli wrote in a commentary posted on the website of her magazine, Caixin. "And this perhaps encapsulates one of the greatest embarrassments of the country's current legal system."
In March, Bo was sacked as Chongqing party boss, and in April he was suspended from the party's Politburo, a powerful decision-making council with two dozen active members.
NYT: China joins nations seeking treasure in warming Arctic
So far, Bo has been accused only of breaching internal party discipline, and his defenders have accused foes of exploiting the charges against Gu to topple Bo. He had not been given a chance to defend himself publicly since his fall in March.
Ding Xueliang, a China expert at Hong Kong's University of Science and Technology, said those in the party leadership who wanted Bo out might push to reward Wang for exposing the corrupt and lawless inner workings of Bo's administration.
"Despite the many terrible things that Wang Lijun did before, he, in my view, contributed enormously to the legitimacy of the Communist government," Ding said. "This kind of local emperor style of Bo Xilai, it is a cancer of the system, and Wang Lijun helped the top leadership to deal with the fundamental disease before it's too late."
More world stories from NBC News:
- Report: Riots break out at Foxconn factory in China
- Pakistan:$100,000 bounty for death of maker of anti-Prophet Muhammad film
- Many Muslims denouncing anti-Islam film decry violent protests, too
- Protesting Libyans overrun militia headquarters
- Thousands descend on Dutch town after Facebook invite goes viral
- Video: US Marines confront challenges in Afghanistan
- Stay informed: Sign up for our newsletter
Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook
Leave a Comment:
Wang should absolutely NOT have to serve prison time for entering the US Consulate for a period of 24 hours! The man had NO choice! He was trying to do right and make things right, but was rebuffed at every turn by emperor Bo and the local corruption. Had he not gone to the US Consulate, he would have been killed! He exposed the corruption of Bo! At most he should be sentenced to eight to ten years for bending the law, abuse of power, and bribe taking, followed by parole after a good solid five to seven years of labor while incarcerated. Without Wang, most of what is known about Bo, and even the initial murder, would NOT be known!
My thoughts go back 6-months to official statements in the news announcing Wang Lijun's "vacation-style therapy" ..."for stress" - hmmm stress... interesting, that would appear now to have been a whole lot of [interrogation] stress - as I recall, the South China Morning Post once stated that in his anti-gang police career, Lijun had approx 20 knife and bullet wounds, and on one occasion laid in a coma for over a week.
Why is this news? It's certainly not the first time a Bo got into trouble because of his Wang.
Gu Kailai Bo's wife hiding billions of RMB's she and her husband in other country banks as does everyone in the party. Her death sentence will be commuted in a few years after the affair ends and Bo will remain under house arrest until he dies. I would not say this is so different than American politicians that kill like the attorney general Holder and that lie like Obama. Nor do that receive long sentence. In all countries you have to separate the government from the people. In China the people are very kind, work hard, have capitalistic characteristics and speak English. We watch Soap Opera and our women are attached to the new Nihilist and his side kick Joe Biden. So what is so different. As Carl Marx said the papers will lie in an industrialized country to replace Liberty with a King.
I have nothing against the people in any country just the Kings especially those that put their own kind in Chains. The Black that is not allowed by Jessy Jackson to be a republican or rich like him, the white women that can not be a independent, and the citizen has no chance for a job except in a large corrupt government, and to top it all the Muslim that is killed in his country so goes to others like the USA to live and kill Americans.
Nice world Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reed, HUH.
Socialism sucks.
There are no socialist governments; China is run by a plutocracy cynically hiding behind a failed revolution against feudalism- so what they have now is pretty similar.
Actual socialism is an impossible eutopian ideal- impossible for the same reason Greenspan's approach to management of the market did: there are no limits to greed, and it won't self-regulate- even after it self-destructs.
For a clearer vision of what China actually is, look at the suppression of information, the close control of the internet, the enslavement of the majority to serve the wealth of a small minority- and the fact that FoxConn found China far more to it's liking than Malaysia, which was far too open.
But after the recent debacle there ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19697344 ) and China's increasingly clear reprisal of the pre-civil-war American South as a business model, it seems likely that FoxConn will have to relocate yet again.
It turns out that information about working conditions in their plants is STILL spreading via social media, which is simply too fast to suppress- and neither Apple nor FoxConn can afford yet another black eye over that.
Tim, if you're talking about China you're barking up the wrong tree. The only socialism you'll find in China is within the ruling party. Otherwise, China's capitalists make American capitalists look like school children. If a Chinese citizen lacks retirement funds or insurance he/she gets absolutely nothing from the government. If they don't work, they get nothing. You need to educate yourself.
re post #4.1: Sorry, "impossible for the same reason Greenspan's approach to management of the market did"- last word should have been "failed". Still waiting for the miracle of coffee.
Too many people confuse economic philosophies like socialism or communism (or capitalism, for that matter), with political systems. China is neither communist or socialist. The political party in control calls themselves Communist, and they have some socialistic ideals, but in truth they are simply a one-party dictatorship that happens to be leaning heavily towards capitalism these days.
No one should be paying attention to this idiot and his country because he can continue to threat everyone and other countries but there is one thing for sure, he is not in charge. Things will only happen only if the Lord said so or order it. There is not a thing he can do to Israel; his threat is a bunch of vapors.
If I was him, I will try to read the real Bible to find out the truth and what is to come. If he tries that he will not be releasing garbage at other countries and society. He will automatically know that he is not in charge and never will be.
The Chinese Communist Party -- like the Communist Party of all communist countries -- is filled with corrupt politicians and power brokers (just like the US Congress) and the world should expect nothing less than scandals and corruption from them. Once a ruling body gets that large, it can bypass all the laws and do what it wants to until it is removed by the people it is supposed to be governing. It can happen, but it will not be pleasant for anyone concerned.
No surprise about all this rhetoric from Iran. They have been spoiling for a fight for too many years to count. The statement that they will not strike first is pre-empted (pun intended) by their statement that they will launch a pre-emptive strike if they "think" Israel will strike. How many seconds do you all think Iran will wait before they decide that the action is a go? The Middle East states hate america for whatever reason, none of which make sense to me. I suggested to some folks at work that we pave Libya over in retaliation for their "pre-emptive" strike, thus starting all the turmoil all over again over there. Unfortunately, that would not stop the other countries (I rather naively felt that such an action would cause the others to step back and reconsider their actions - remember WWII? Waking the sleeping tiger statement?). My boss said the other countries would swarm over what was left and increase attempts to obliberate any and all American anything. So I guess we just sit and wait for our government to make a move - not too impressed with them right now, what with the flip flop acknowledgement and reasoning about why this is happening. We cannot afford another war, no manpower and no money - simple math even I can figure out. All I will say now is keep your heads low, think rationally and stay safe. You all are great and I like to read what you say.
Bottom Line! WHO CARES!
Typical response from an ignorant hick who couldn't find China on a map.
Can we jail Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney and George Walker Bush Jr. ?
Obama is a dirty Muslim Pig who needs to go back to Chicago this November. Vote for some real hope and change and let's get this Country moving in the right direction again. How long do you think it will take to air out the Oval Office after this smelly pig has left?? I'm guessing at least a month
Wang wasn't "coaxed" out of the embassy - he was turned out by the embassy staff.
This is a joke this guy Wang is a puppet working for the same people who are putting him in Jail.
Bo and his wife are now only pawns in a game they had to kill Bo's name first before they can kill Bo.
It is a funny twist in history who is the Hero. I think Bo is China is trying to get rid of a real Communist a guy for the poor regular Chinese workers.
history is written by those who have hanged heroes.