Update | Disgraced Bo Xilai formally charged over corruption
Leadership moves to wrap up political scandal with ex-Politburo member and Chongqing chief accused of taking bribes and abuse of power
Disgraced Politburo member Bo Xilai was formally charged with bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power yesterday, as the new leadership rushes to bring closure to the nation's biggest political scandal in years.
Prosecutors in Jinan, capital of Shandong province, gave no date for the trial. Under the Criminal Procedural Law, a court can only open a public trial 10 days after indictment.
Given the allegations, Bo is likely to face the death sentence with reprieve or life imprisonment, although technically, the 'huge amounts' in bribes can lead to death by law
Wang Zhaofeng, Bo's defence lawyer, said Bo, 64, was in normal physical and mental condition when he met him recently. "[Bo's appearance] remained largely unchanged," Wang said.
Bo was officially accused of receiving "extremely large amounts" of bribes, embezzling "extremely large amounts" of public funds and abusing his power of office, Xinhua said, citing the indictment.
It said the former Chongqing party chief had caused "heavy losses to the interests of the nation and the people in an extremely serious way".
Bo would become the third Politburo member to stand trial in the past two decades, following former Beijing party boss Chen Xitong in 1998 and Shanghai party chief Chen Liangyu in 2008, who received 16 and 18 years' imprisonment respectively.
A Tuesday internal meeting in Bo's power base of Chongqing and other cities disclosed that he would be tried on charges of taking 20 million yuan (HK$25.27 million) in bribes, embezzling 5 million yuan and abusing power.