China charges ex-police chief in Bo Xilai scandal

The Chinese police chief at the centre of the biggest political scandal to engulf the communist party in decades has been charged with defection, power abuse and taking bribes, state media said on Wednesday. The charges against Wang Lijun, the former Chongqing police chief and right hand man of disgraced politician Bo Xilai, come after he fled to a US consulate in February, reportedly seeking asylum. He was also charged with "bending the law for selfish ends", according to Xinhua. Bo had been widely expected to ascend to the all-powerful Politburo later this year until sensational murder allegations were made against his wife Gu Kailai. He is now under investigation for "serious discipline violations" -- party code for corruption -- while his Gu was handed a suspended death sentence for the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood. Wang reportedly confronted Bo with information related to the murder before fleeing to the US consulate in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, where he spoke with US officials for several hours. Security forces surrounded the consulate and Wang was subsequently handed over to Chinese custody, but the incident triggered the rapid unravelling of Bo's fortunes and those of his high-flying family. The charges against Wang were filed at the Intermediate People's Court in Chengdu City, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, Xinhua said, but it was unclear at this stage whether Wang would face trial at the court.