China ex-police chief gets 15 years in jail – Xinhua

This frame grab taken from Chinese television CCTV shows on September 18, 2012 former police chief Wang Lijun (R) speaking to the court during his trial in Chengdu, in southwest China’s Sichuan province. The former police chief who set off China’s biggest political scandal in years “did not contest” charges including defection and bribery at his trial, which ended on September 19, a court in Chengdu said. AFP / CCTV

CHENGDU, China – Chinese ex-police chief Wang Lijun, who triggered a scandal that shocked the Communist Party, was sentenced to 15 years in prison Monday for defection and other crimes, Xinhua reported.

Wang fled to the US consulate in Chengdu in February, sparking a crisis that saw top politician Bo Xilai sacked and his wife convicted of murder, exposing divisions in the upper echelons of Chinese politics ahead of a power transfer.