Ex-police chief Wang Lijun sentenced to 15 years over Bo Xilai scandal

Former Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun – who exposed China’s worst political scandal in a decade – was sentenced to 15 years on Monday morning for defection and other crimes at a court in Chengdu.

Wang stood trial last week in the southwestern city in Sichuan province, where he sought asylum at a US consulate in February after falling out with former Chongqing party boss Bo Xilai.

In a statement the Intermediate People’s Court found him guilty on each count, adding that the circumstances of the  bending the law offence were “very serious”.

But it said that Wang was shown leniency because he had reported the role of Bo’s  wife Gu Kailai in the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood.

He “actively helped with the re-investigation” which “played an important role in the breaking of the case by police authorities”, it said.