Bo Xilai's wife held on suspicion of Briton's muder

Australian Herald Wednesday 11th April, 2012

• Bo has been suspended from the Communist Party's 25-member Politburo

• Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun spent a day in the US consulate in Chengdu in early February.

• Xinhua said a "conflict over economic interests" had cropped up between Heywood and GU

BEIJING - The glamorous wife of suspended top Chinese communist party leader Bo Xilai has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the murder of a British national last November.

China has also launched a probe into the death of Neil Heywood, who was found dead in his hotel room in Chongqing in November.

Gu Kailai, 53, the second wife of Bo, has been held on suspicion of involvement in the murder of Heywood, a businessman who had close links with the family, especially Gu.

Bo, 62, who was not too long ago considered a top leader, was removed as head of Chongqing recently and has been suspended from the Communist Party's 25-member Politburo on suspicion of involvement in 'serious discipline violations'.

Besides, Gu, the authorities have also named Zhang Xiaojun, 'an orderly at Bo's home' as suspects in the murder.

Both have been "transferred to judicial authorities on suspected crime of intentional homicide". In China, the maximum penalty for murder is death.

Trouble for Bo began after Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun spent a day in the US consulate in Chengdu in early February. It was widely rumoured then that Wang had tried to defect.

Wang had reportedly told the consulate that Gu was involved in the murder of Heywood, Xinhua reported.

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