Prosecutors announce Bo probe after NPC expels him
Way clear for ex-Chongqing chief’s trial after loss of final position and with it his immunity
State prosecutors initiated investigations against disgraced Bo Xilai yesterday within hours of his formal expulsion from the national legislature.
The announcement came less than a fortnight before the start of the five-yearly Communist Party congress that will see a once-in-a-decade transition of power at the top of the party.
"The Supreme People's Procuratorate has decided to put Bo Xilai under investigation for alleged criminal offences," Xinhua reported shortly before midnight. Bo was in custody, its brief report said. It did not mention any specific allegations against Bo, saying only that an "investigation is under way".
Earlier, the National People's Congress Standing Committee said it had terminated Bo's membership of the legislature, thereby removing his immunity from prosecution. He had already been stripped of all his other positions and of his party membership.
Bo, formerly a contender for membership of the party's supreme Politburo Standing Committee, is accused of corruption, abuse of power and other wrongdoings, including interfering in the investigation into the murder of a British businessman.
Bo's wife, Gu Kailai , and his former police chief, Wang Lijun , have both been jailed over the scandal, which stemmed from the murder of the businessman, Neil Heywood, last year while Bo was Communist Party chief of the southwestern municipality of Chongqing .
