Bogu Kailai's suspended death sentence commuted to life imprisonment

Bogu Kailai's suspended death sentence has been commuted to life in prison, the Beijing Higher People's Court announced on Monday.

Bogu Kailai was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for intentional homicide in August 2012 by the Hefei City Intermediate People's Court in east China's Anhui Province. She was deprived of political rights for life.

Bogu Kailai is serving her term in Yancheng Prison under the Ministry of Justice.

After two years of serving her term, Yancheng Prison proposed commuting her suspended death sentence as she had not intentionally broken the law while in prison.

The Beijing court made the commuting case public for opinions from Nov.16 to 20 to ensure the transparency and quality of the trial.

The court approved commuting her suspended death sentence to life imprisonment on Dec. 11, and she will still be deprived of political rights for life.

In the latter half of 2011, Bogu Kailai and her son, surnamed Bo, had a conflict with British businessman Neil Heywood over economic interests. Heywood had threatened Bo via e-mail, and Bogu Kailai, fearing for her son's personal safety, murdered Heywood, according to the Hefei court.

Zhang Xiaojun, an accessory in the case, was sentenced to nine years in prison.

According to China's penal law, a suspended death sentence can be commuted to life in prison after two years in prison if the prisoner has not intentionally broken the law while in prison. Endi