Sources tell Benjamin Kang Lim and Ben Blanchard of Reuters that disgraced former Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai has agreed to plead guilty at a trial likely to take place within a few weeks:
“Bo Xilai had initially refused to admit guilt and insisted on defending himself,” said a source with ties to the leadership and direct knowledge of the matter, requesting anonymity due to the political sensitivity of the case.
“But in a change of heart, he cooperated and will plead guilty (at his trial) in the hope that he will receive a relatively lenient sentence,” the source told Reuters.
[…] Other sources indicated Bo may not plead guilty to the abuse of power charge.
A source close to the family, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said Bo will plead guilty, but should not be held accountable for crimes committed by immediate family members. The source declined to elaborate.
A third source told Reuters that Bo will plead guilty to accepting bribes and corruption during his time as mayor and Communist Party chief of Dalian, charges which Caijing magazine detailed on Tuesday, but will reject the charge of abuse of power when he was party boss of Chongqing. Bo was formally indicted last week.
