Wang Lijun, who was tried last week, was found guilty by the Chengdu City Intermediate People's Court of bending the law for selfish ends, defection, abuse of power and bribe-taking, state-run Xinhua news agency said Monday.
The 52 year old could have faced execution as bribe-taking carries the death penalty in China, depending on the amount involved and the seriousness of the case. Wang was accused in court of accepting bribes and property worth around 3.05 million yuan (around U.S.$480,00) for personal favors.
Until he sought refuge in the consulate back in February, he had served as the right-hand man of disgraced Chongqing Party chief Bo Xilai, who was stripped of his titles in April due to an unspecified "serious breach of party discipline." Bo has not been in public since.
Wang didn't contest the charges, according to Xinhua, which published full details of the case against him -- including the first suggestion that Bo knew as early as January that his wife, Gu Kailai, was suspected of murder.
After a one-day trial in August, Gu was found guilty of poisoning British businessman Neil Heywood in a hotel room in Chongqing last November. During her trial, she admitted pouring poison into his mouth, provided by a family aide who was also convicted of the crime.
According to Xinhua, prosecutors said Wang knew "perfectly well" that Gu was suspected of murder, but deliberately covered up for her so she would not be held legally responsible for Heywood's death.
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