Having catalysed China’s biggest political scandal in decades, Wang Lijun went within hours from a police chief who commanded fear and respect to a renegade potentially facing life behind bars.
It all fell apart one day in February when, having lost favour with his boss Bo Xilai who at the time ran the megacity of Chongqing, Wang fled to a nearby US consulate seeking refuge.
American diplomats must have listened in disbelief as Wang revealed to them Chongqing’s dark sides and, most importantly, as he detailed the assassination of a British man by Gu Kailai, the wife of Bo.
Yet in seeking to protect himself, Wang precipitated his fall – as soon as he left the consulate he was taken to Beijing and has not been seen since.
Chinese media have reported that President Hu Jintao himself branded Wang a traitor at a meeting of senior Communist party officials.
Up until that point, the 52-year-old police chief and character worthy of a spy novel had commanded fear, even hatred, for his aggressive ways.