China ex-police chief's 'open' trial starts

Chinese former police chief Wang Lijun went on open trial Tuesday, a court official told AFP, in the latest stage of a huge political scandal triggered when he fled to a US consulate. "The open trial has started and is in progress," a spokesman for the Chengdu Intermediate People's Court said. But no foreign media were allowed to enter the hearing. China's official news agency Xinhua said that Tuesday's session was a trial for bribe-taking and bending the law for selfish ends, and followed a closed-door trial Monday on charges of defection and abuse of power. The court spokesman, who gave his name only as He, told AFP he could not go into details about the hearings. Police cordoned off the area in front of the courthouse with dozens of policemen visible around the perimeter as commuters sped past on electric bikes.