French architect with ties to Bo scandal returns to China

Patrick Henri Devillers, a French architect linked to former Politburo member Bo Xilai, has been released from Cambodian custody and flown to China to cooperate with the investigation into Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai, The Wall Street Journal reported. “We didn’t force him; he honestly agreed to go to China by himself,” said Koy Koung, a spokesman for the Cambodian Foreign Ministry, adding that the French embassy in Cambodia was involved in the decision. Devillers’s return to China is likely a sign that he has agreed to testify at the trial of Gu in return for immunity from prosecution, said diplomats following the case. Devillers had been held in Cambodia since June 13, following an extradition request by the Chinese government. He is a former business associate of Gu, who is suspected of murdering Neil Heywood, a British business consultant.