Legal experts say Bo Xilai's wife and son should stand trial for economic crimes too

The wife and younger son of Bo Xilai should stand trial for economic crimes if Bo is found guilty of bribery, legal experts say, though whether they eventually will is a political unknown.

New evidence given by witnesses including Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, implicated her and their son, Bo Guagua , in Bo's alleged bribery, so they should be tried, the experts said.

For Gu, such a trial would come on top of the suspended death sentence she received in August last year for the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood in November 2011 in a hotel in Chongqing , the municipality once governed by Bo.

"Since what's been presented to the court in the past three days sheds new light on the complicity of Gu Kailai and Bo Guagua in Bo's acceptance of bribes, the judiciary should bring them to trial in a separate action," said Beijing-based lawyer Mo Shaoping .

In particular, what Gu said in her 11-minute videoed evidence about what Bo knew of a 16 million yuan (HK$20 million) villa in Cannes, France, given to her by tycoon Xu Ming showed she "had direct knowledge" of the bribery, Mo said.

"When Gu stood trial last year it was only for the charge of murder, but now since the judiciary has discovered that she may be linked to other cases involving bribery, it should be pursued."

The judiciary should not consider factors such as whether a new charge would result in a heavier or lighter punishment than the one she already received, he said. "That's a completely different matter. It would be ludicrous if she doesn't face other charges because her current sentence is tough enough."