China politician's wife doesn't deny killing Brit
China politician's wife doesn't deny killing Brit
HEFEI, China
(AP)
–
The wife of disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai
lured a British businessman to a hotel in the southwestern mega-city of
Chongqing, where she got him drunk and poisoned him, testimony revealed
Thursday in one of China's highest-profile murder trials.
- By Alexander F. Yuan, 2007 AP photoBo Xilai, right, then China's Minister of Commerce, and his wife, Gu Kailai, attend a memorial ceremony for Bo's father in Beijing.
By Alexander F. Yuan, 2007 AP photo
Bo
Xilai, right, then China's Minister of Commerce, and his wife, Gu
Kailai, attend a memorial ceremony for Bo's father in Beijing.Sponsored Links
The
secretive trial of Gu Kailai and a household aide, who are accused of
murdering Bo family associate Neil Heywood, ended in less than a day at
the Intermediate People's Court in the eastern Chinese city of Hefei.
The defendants did not contest the murder charges; a guilty verdict is
all but assured and could carry a death sentence.
The
tightly orchestrated court proceeding marks a step toward resolving the
messiest scandal the Communist leadership has faced in two decades.
Bo
was one of China's most powerful and charismatic politicians until he
was ousted in the spring as the scandal surrounding Heywood's death
unfolded. Observers say the party's main objective is to keep the focus
tightly on the murder case and not on larger allegations of corruption
that could further taint the regime.
International
media were barred from the courtroom, so details of the case against Gu
were provided afterward by Tang Yigan, the court's deputy director.
He
said prosecutors told the court that Gu sent her aide, Zhang Xiaojun,
to meet and accompany Heywood from Beijing to Chongqing, where Bo was
the Communist Party boss.
Gu and Heywood were
business associates but had had a dispute over economic interests,
according to Tang, whose account matched details from the indictment
reported in official media several weeks ago. Gu thought Heywood was a
threat to her son, 24-year-old Bo Guagua, and decided to have him
killed, said Tang, who did not specify what sort of threat Heywood
posed.
On the night of Nov. 13, Gu went to Heywood's hotel and drank alcohol and tea with him.
"When
Heywood was drunk and vomited and wanted to drink water, she then took
pre-prepared poison that she had asked Zhang Xiaojun to carry, and
poured it into Heywood's mouth, killing him," Tang said.
Heywood's
friends and family have said he was never a heavy drinker, and they
rejected investigators' initial conclusion that he drank himself to
death. His body was cremated and no autopsy was performed.
Tang
said the prosecutors believed the facts of the crime were clear and the
evidence sufficient, and that "Gu Kailai is the main culprit and Zhang
is the accomplice."
Before Thursday, the 53-year-old Gu had not been seen in months and has never publicly offered her side of the story.
State
broadcaster CCTV aired video during the day showing a calm-looking Gu
being led into court with a sheaf of papers in one hand. She and Zhang
both wore white shirts and neither was handcuffed. In an apparent
indication of the government's desire to keep the trial low-key, no
report on the trial appeared on CCTV's main evening news broadcast,
which is more widely seen and where sensitive content is more
stringently controlled.
Chinese officials
agreed to let two British diplomats attend court, but the British
Embassy in Beijing said it would offer no statement on the proceedings.
The
quick trial contrasts with often-lengthy high-profile murder cases
around the world. But it's common in China, where even the verdict can
be delivered the same day in death penalty cases.
"It's
very unusual for criminal trials (in China) to extend beyond a day,"
said Joshua Rosenzweig, a human rights researcher based in Hong Kong who said trials are short in part because witness testimony is usually written, instead of delivered in person.
"It's
very rare to see what you see in other countries, where a trial starts
on one day and extents through many, many days," he said. "The process
is very structured. A Chinese criminal trial is not a free-flowing
process."
In Gu's trial, Tang said material evidence, written evidence, witness statements and other materials were presented.
He
said Gu's lawyer told the court that Heywood bore some responsibility
for the cause of the crime, although he did not say why. The attorney
also said Gu had "less than normal" control of her actions at the time
of Heywood's death, according to Tang, and that she had informed on the
crimes of others. Tang did not say what those crimes were or how she
might have been impaired.
Zhang's lawyer asked
for leniency, arguing he was only an accomplice, according to Tang, who
said the court would study the evidence and the arguments and make a
judgment at a date to be announced later.
On
Friday, four former police officials from Chongqing will also go on
trial at the same court, charged with covering up for Gu in Heywood's
murder.
Security was tight around the
courthouse, with police lines in front of each entrance and dozens of
plainclothes security officers patrolling the streets of Hefei, a gritty
industrial city in Anhui Province.
Gu
and Zhang are likely to be found guilty of intentional homicide, which
carries punishment ranging from more than 10 years in jail to a life
sentence or the death penalty. In announcing the indictment about two
weeks ago, Xinhua News Agency made clear the government considers the verdict a foregone conclusion.
"The facts of the two defendants' crime are clear, and the evidence is irrefutable and substantial," it said.
The
scandal has drawn attention to political infighting that China prefers
to keep secret and comes at a time when the government is preparing for a
once-a-decade political transition — at the 18th party congress later
this year, where it will install a new generation of leaders.
Bo,
the son of a revolutionary veteran, was once a contender for one of
those top jobs. But his overt maneuvering to reach the highest echelons
of the Communist Party angered some leaders, as did his bombastic
campaigns to bust organized crime and promote communist culture while
trampling civil liberties and reviving memories of the chaotic Cultural Revolution.
The
infighting came to light in February, when longtime Bo aide and former
Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun suddenly fled to the U.S. Consulate in
the city of Chengdu. Apparently fearing for his safety if he remained
in Chongqing, Wang told American diplomats about his suspicions that
Heywood had been murdered and that Bo's family was involved.
In
April, Bo was stripped of his most powerful posts and Gu was named a
suspect in Heywood's murder. That was followed by her indictment late
last month, which indicated that the leadership had closed ranks and
reached a general agreement about the case and was ready to move forward
with the trial.
Bo is the first Politburo
member to be removed from office in five years and the scandal kicked up
talk of a political struggle involving Bo supporters intent on
derailing succession plans calling for Vice President Xi Jinping to lead
the party for the next decade.
Bo, 64, is in
the hands of the party's internal discipline and inspection commission,
which is expected to issue a statement about his infractions. That would
open the way for a court trial with charges possibly including
obstructing police work and abuse of power. Thus far, Bo has been
accused only of grievous but unspecified rules violations.
end quote from:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-08-09/trial-wife-china-politician-ends/56896416/1
My wife was saying that "Maybe she was having an affair with the British man and was just trying to protect herself and her husband from potential harm." It is difficult to know because of the very different culture we live in here in the U.S. what actually is going on in China in regard to this story.
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