A former police chief who set off China’s biggest political scandal in years “did not contest” charges including defection and bribery at his trial, which ended Tuesday, a court in Chengdu said.
Wang Lijun “did not raise an objection to the basic facts and charges of bending the law for selfish ends, defection, abuse of power, and bribery”, the court said in a statement, adding the verdict would be given at a later date.
Wang, the former right-hand man of disgraced politician Bo Xilai, fled to the US consulate in Chengdu in February, setting in motion a crisis that exposed deep divisions within the upper echelons of Chinese politics ahead of a generational transfer of power.
The scandal led to the sacking of Bo, one of China’s most high-profile political figures, and the conviction of his wife Gu Kailai for the murder of a British businessman.
Bribery can carry the death penalty in China but defence lawyer Wang Yuncai argued that her client should be shown leniency because he had “made an important contribution to the resolution” of the Gu case.
“Wang Lijun had a reason to choose to defect and he stopped committing the crime part way through,” she added, according to the statement.
“He voluntarily left the US consulate after the defection and faithfully stated the major facts about the defection, which should be regarded as a surrender.”
The statement, read out by a court spokesman, added: “The court will carefully and comprehensively review the evidence materials of the case and take into full consideration opinions of both the prosecutors and the defendant side.”
