Wang Lijun, the former police chief whose attempted defection in February sparked China’s worst political crisis in more than 20 years, admitted he tried to jump ship to the Americans, that he took bribes and that he carried out illegal surveillance, at his two-day trial which ended yesterday.
According to an official transcript, Mr Wang, former protege of purged Communist leader Bo Xilai, tried to conceal the murder of a British businessman by Mr Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai.
So far, Mr Bo has only been accused of breaching internal party discipline. However, the official statement said Mr Wang had exposed leads to major crimes committed by unnamed others.
The charges against Mr Wang carry sentences ranging from a jail term to the death penalty.
