Former Chongqing police chief sentenced to 15 years

A Chinese court sentenced Chongqing’s ex-police chief Wang Lijun to 15 years in jail for corruption, defection and assisting the cover up of a murder, Reuters reported, citing state media. Wang was convicted for, among other charges, covering up the murder of British entrepreneur Neil Heywood in November 2011 at the hands of Gu Kailai, the wife of ousted Chongqing leader Bo Xilai, and attempting to defect to the US. The former police chief received a lenient sentence because he offered important information in the murder case, although the ruling did not explicitly mention Bo or Gu. “Wang Lijun exposed clues of major law-breaking and crimes by others,” state-owned Xinhua news agency reported the verdict as saying. “He rendered a major contribution, and according to the law he can receive a lighter sentence.” Gu received a suspended death sentence last month but Bo’s fate remains unclear.