China ex-police chief gets 15 years jail

CHENGDU, China – Chinese ex-police chief Wang Lijun, who triggered a scandal that shocked the Communist Party, was sentenced to 15 years in prison Monday, September 24, for defection and other crimes, Xinhua reported.

Wang fled to the US consulate in the southwestern city of Chengdu in February, sparking a crisis that saw top politician Bo Xilai sacked and his wife convicted of murder, ahead of a generational transfer of power.

Wang, the former police chief in the sprawling metropolis of Chongqing, where Bo was the top Communist Party official, was tried last week for defection, bribery, abuse of power and bending the law for selfish ends.

In its initial short report Xinhua said he was given “a combined punishment for all offences” of 15 years by the Intermediate People’s Court.

At his two-day trial Wang “did not raise an objection” to the charges, a court statement had said after the hearings.

While both defection and bribery can carry the death penalty in China, both prosecution and defence said Wang’s co-operation with the authorities meant he was eligible for a lighter sentence, according to the statement last week. – Agence France-Presse