Bo's trial to continue Saturday

The Jinan Intermediate People's Court will continue to hear the case of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power involving Bo Xilai on Saturday. Despite the weekend, the trial will go on to maintain continuity as agreed by prosecutors, the defendant and his lawyers. The court in east China's Shandong Province on Thursday started hearing the case of Bo who was charged with taking bribes, embezzlement and abuse of power. Bo, 64, was former secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and former member of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau. Prosecutors said Bo accepted bribes worth about 21.8 million yuan (about 3.5 million U.S. dollars) from businessmen Tang Xiaolin and Xu Ming and embezzled five million yuan in public funds from the Dalian municipal government. He is also accused of abusing power when dealing with his wife Bogu Kailai's murder case and the defection of his associate, Wang Lijun, in 2012. Bo denied the bribery and embezzlement charges during the two days of trial. The court approved all applications by Bo, who was emotionally stable and physically healthy during the trial, to defend himself.