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| The timeline of Bo Xilai Scandal for which Wang Lijun has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment [GFX © news.BDTV.in] |
Beijing: A court in China on Monday sentenced ex-
police chief Wang Lijun to 15 years in prison. Wang Lijun was jailed for abuse
of power, defection, corruption and ‘bending the law for selfish ends’, media
reports said.
Wang’s flight to a U.S. consulate in
southern China, earlier this year, helped expose one of the Communist party’s
biggest political scandals in decades.
During his trial, Wang Lijun did not
contest any of the charges against him, which included defection, bribery,
abuse of power and, as state media put it, bending the law for his own selfish
ends.
The willingness to admit his guilt as well as help authorities with the
investigation into the murder of a British businessman by the wife of his
former boss - rising political star Bo Xilai - appears to have helped lighten
his sentence.
In state media footage of the trial Wang was shown apologizing to those he says
he let down.
Wang says he regrets the crimes he committed and pledges to spend the rest of
his life repaying the party and all those who care about him. Wang says he
wants to do this to make up for the pains he brought to them.
Wang Lijun was once Bo Xilai's right hand man. But that changed when he found
out that Bo’s wife had murdered British businessman Neil Heywood.
According to an official account of the trial, Wang first helped cover up
evidence of the murder, but later confronted his former boss about his wife’s
involvement.