Police chief faces treason charge over Bo scandal

Wang Lijun, the police chief who triggered China's worst political scandal for two decades when he sought sanctuary at the US consulate in Chengdu with revelations about his ally and mentor Bo Xilai, will be charged with treason as early as next month.

A legal team had already been assembled to try Mr Wang, who was the right hand man of Mr Bo, the purged Communist leader in the large municipality of Chongqing, according to the South China Morning Post.

Mr Bo was widely tipped to take a place at the all-powerful Politburo later this year, but a scandal over the mysterious death of British businessman Neil Heywood and corruption, for which he is being investigated, saw him ousted.

Mr Wang could face the death penalty, although the government appears keen to draw a line under the scandal before a once-in-a-decade leadership transition in the autumn, when President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao hand over to Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang. President Hu described Mr Wang as a traitor during the March party congress.