Prosecutors seek heavy punishment for Bo Xilai(2)

Bo said after Bogu Kailai murdered British citizen Neil Heywood in November 2011, she immediately told Wang Lijun.

Bo said that once he even found Wang's shoes in his apartment and that he felt fed up with the "special relationship" between his wife and Wang.

Bo insisted that he knew nothing about the murder case until Jan 28, 2012, when Wang told him about it in his office.

Wang appeared in court on Saturday, testifying that Bo tried to cover up the murder case by physically attacking him in front of two other local officials to threaten them into silence.

Bo admitted on Monday that he was wrong to slap Wang, but he insisted that he did not abuse power to stop Wang from investigating the murder case.

"When I heard the case for the first time on Jan 28, I did not believe that she could kill people. I thought he framed Bogu Kailai, and I felt that he was of bad character," Bo said while explaining why he removed Wang from his post.

Bo said the five-day trial gave him and the prosecutors sufficient opportunity to express themselves.

Liu Yanjie, spokesman for the Jinan Intermediate People's Court, said the rights of Bo and his defense lawyers in the prosecution process have been ensured.

Trial transparency hailed

Bo's trial was held in the largest courtroom in the Jinan Intermediate People's Court, and more than 100 people, including many from the media, were present, Liu said.

"We will continue to carry out the principle of judicial transparency in future trials," he said.

He Jiahong, a law professor specializing in anti-graft studies at Renmin University of China, said the trial's transparency has exceeded his expectations.

"It shows the leadership's resolution and confidence to combat corruption and push forward with judicial justice," he said.

He followed the proceeding through the transcript, which was released on the court's micro blog.

He said he hopes all court hearings will be as transparent as Bo's.

You Wei, a law professor in job-related crimes at East China University of Political Science and Law, said he believes Bo's trial marks the start of judicial transparency in China.

He said it is still rare for courts to release court transcripts on micro blogs.