Gu Kailai, the lawyer wife of disgraced Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai, is to be tried for intentional homicide over the murder of a British businessman, a case that has rocked the Communist Party's leadership transition.
An intermediate court in the eastern city of Hefei will try Gu and a Bo family employee, Zhang Xiaojun, for the poisoning of Neil Heywood, supposedly because Gu believed he posed a treat to the safety of her son, Xinhua reported yesterday.
'Investigation results show that Bogu Kailai and her son, surnamed Bo, had conflicts with the British citizen Neil Heywood over economic interests,' Xinhua said, using Gu's married name. 'Worried about Neil Heywood's threat to her son's personal safety, Bogu Kailai together with Zhang Xiaojun fatally poisoned Neil Heywood.'
The facts surrounding the two defendants' crime were 'clear', and the evidence 'irrefutable and substantial', according to the Xinhua report. 'Therefore, the two defendants should be charged with intentional homicide.'
No trial date was announced.
Conviction for intentional homicide carries penalties ranging from three years in jail to death under mainland criminal law.
However, legal experts said the unexpected mention of the only son of the family, Bo Guagua, in the announcement might mitigate punishment for Gu.