China murder trials

In a matter of hours, China's justice system began and ended the highest-profile murder trial the country has seen in years.

Gu Kailai, an international lawyer and wife to the disgraced Chinese businessman Bo Xilai, is accused of poisoning a British businessman, Neil Heywood, over a financial dispute. But the trial has been overshadowed by suspicions of top-level government corruption.

The defendant has never publicly given her side of the story, and did not deny the charges in court. The verdict will be handed down at a later date. She could face the death sentence, though experts believe she is more likely to be sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison.

DW's Andreas Grigo spoke to David Zweig, professor of Social Sciences at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, to find out more about the background to the trial.