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 ''combined term'' of 15 years in prison included nine years for bribery, seven for bending the law, two for defection and two for abuse of power, state television reported.
Wang Lijun's unorthodox policing methods inspired a TV drama, "Iron Blooded Police Spirits" and won him popularity during his tough anti-corruption crackdown in the city of Chongqing.
His trial has unveiled a much more troubling side, showing him to have engaged in unauthorised surveillance of suspects and taken bribes in exchange for releasing prisoners.
But his unannounced visit to the US consulate in February and his whistle-blowing about the murder has not only shone a light into China's policing standards, but its politics too.
His former boss in Chongqing, Bo Xilai, remains suspended from his position on the country's powerful politburo while he waits to hear if he will be next to face a criminal court.
Mr Bo was once tipped as likely to be awarded an even higher position when the Communist Party appoints its new leadership later this year.
But the extraordinary story of the politician, his homicidal wife and his corrupt police chief has altered the political landscape, raised questions about corruption at the highest level and unsettled what was meant to be a smooth political transition.
''We decided to sentence him to 15 years altogether on all the four charges and deprive his political rights for one year," court spokesman Yang Yuquan told reporters.
''Wang Lijun said he wouldn't appeal after hearing the verdict," Mr Yang said.
The verdict was ''in accordance with the law'', he added, saying three of Wang's relatives were at the hearing.
Wang Lijun was jailed for ''bending the law for selfish ends, defection, abuse of power and bribetaking", Xinhua said.
The policeman's flight in February to a US consulate led to the downfall of his ex-boss, top politician Bo Xilai.
Mr Bo's wife was convicted in August of killing UK national Neil Heywood. Wang was accused of helping in a cover-up.
State news agency Xinhua said the Chengdu intermediate people's court found him guilty of defection, accepting bribes of at least 3 million yuan, abuse of power and bending the law to selfish ends by covering up the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood by Bo's wife Gu Kailai.
Gu was last month handed a suspended death sentence for the crime, while an aide who helped her was jailed for nine years.
Wang is a central figure in a scandal that embarrassed the Communist Party, brought down a prominent up-and-coming leader, Bo Xilai, and led to a murder conviction against Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai. The party is keen to resolve Wang’s case ahead of a key meeting —widely expected in late October — where a younger generation of leaders will be named.
“In line with the Gu Kailai case, the Chinese leadership certainly would like to complete the trial of Wang Lijun well before the 18th party congress to separate these cases from Bo Xilai,” said Joseph Cheng, a political science professor at the City University of Hong Kong.
But as China’s leadership tries to resolve one source of political intrigue, another is brewing. The country’s leader-in-waiting, Xi Jinping, has been out of sight for nearly two weeks, sparking rumors about his health and raising questions about the stability of the succession process.
Wang fled to the U.S. consulate in Chengdu in early February after being demoted by Bo, then the powerful Communist Party boss in nearby Chongqing.
During his overnight stay at the consulate, Wang expressed to the Americans his concerns about last year’s death of British businessman Neil Heywood, a close business associate of the Bo family. That prompted the British Embassy to request a new investigation, which uncovered that Heywood had been murdered.
Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai, was given a suspended death sentence for the murder last month. Three leading Chongqing police officers and a Bo family aide were also sentenced as accomplices in the murder and subsequent cover-up.
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