Family Of Murdered Briton Seeks $8.2 Million Compensation In China

The family of a British citizen murdered in China, whose death triggered the nation’s biggest political scandals in decades, is seeking compensation of up to $8.2 million from his convicted killer, the wife of former top leader Bo Xilai, a lawyer with knowledge of the talks said on Monday.

Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai, was jailed for life last year for the poisoning of British businessman Neil Heywood in a case that also led to a corruption probe into Bo, once a candidate for China’s top leadership team.

It is customary for a murderer to be ordered to pay court-sanctioned compensation to the victim’s family.

A source close to the family said Heywood’s Chinese widow, Lulu, had been pushing for compensation for herself and their two young children from Gu. Lulu and the children are believed to be still living in Beijing.

Li Xiaolin, a lawyer who has represented Gu’s family in the past, said Heywood’s family was seeking between 30 million and 50 million yuan ($8.17 million) in compensation.

“The talks started last year, but have not reached any agreement yet that I know of,” Li told Reuters. “Gu Kailai has no money herself.”

Money was not being sought from Bo though as he was not mentioned in the verdict for Gu’s case, Li said.

“Talks are continuing,” Li added, saying it was a colleague of his who was involved in the talks.

Bo was sacked as Communist Party chief of the southwestern city of Chongqing last year when his wife was named as an official suspect in the November 2011 murder of Heywood, a long-time friend of the couple who also helped their son, Bo Guagua, settle into study in Britain.

Bo is now awaiting trial on charges of corruption, taking bribes and of bending the law.

The government originally implicated Bo in helping to cover up Heywood’s murder, but the legal indictment issued last month made no mention of that and it is unclear if the case will be included in his trial, likely to start this month.

The British Embassy in Beijing said it had passed on the family’s concerns about a lack of progress on the compensation request to the Chinese government.

“We’ve made the Chinese authorities, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, aware of the family’s concerns on several occasions since the trial, most recently twice during July,” said an embassy spokesman, who did not elaborate.