China’s disgraced top leader, Zhou Yongkang, who was arrested two days ago, may face a suspended death sentence as he has been charged with leaking State secrets besides adultery, corruption and abuse of power.
Unlike his “protege” Bo Xilai who was given a life sentence for various allegations similar to the one faced by Zhou, the top most ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) leader to have been arrested could face death sentence as he is accused of leaking State secrets, South China Morning Post reported.
Zhou, 72, a former internal security chief, retired as the member of the nine member Standing Committee of the CPC, headed by previous President Hu Jintao in 2012.
One of the charges listed against Zhou was that he leaked the Party’s and country’s secrets. He seriously violated self-disciplinary regulations and accepted a large amount of money and properties personally and through his family, a CPC statement said about his detention.