DHAKA: A Chinese court will rule on Friday on the appeal of the once-powerful politician Bo Xilai, it announced on Monday, another step towards closing a scandal that has rocked the ruling party.

Bo was sentenced to life in prison in September by the Intermediate People’s Court in Jinan, the provincial capital of Shandong.

The Shandong provincial high court said on its website that it will ‘issue a decision regarding the bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power case of the appellant Bo Xilai’.

Appeals in such high-profile cases are almost unheard of in Chinese courts, which are tightly controlled by the ruling Communist part.

Analysts have said the appeal is unlikely to succeed, reports The Straits Times.

BDST: 1543 HRS, OCT 21, 2013
RoR/JCK