The former Chinese police chief who attempted to defect to the United States, triggering one of China's biggest political scandals, has been jailed for 15 years.

Wang Lijun, who was tried last week, was found guilty by the Chengdu City Intermediate People's Court of bending the law for selfish ends, defection, abuse of power and bribe-taking, court spokesman Yang Yuquan said Monday.

Until he sought refuge at the U.S. Consulate in February, Wang was the right-hand man of disgraced Chongqing Party chief Bo Xilai, who was stripped of his titles in April because of an unspecified "serious breach of party discipline." Bo has not been seen in public since.

Wang, 52, could have faced execution, since bribe-taking can carry the death penalty in China, depending on the amount involved and the seriousness of the case. Wang was accused in court of accepting bribes and property worth around 3.05 million yuan (around U.S. $480,000) for personal favors.

He received nine years for this offense, with a further seven added for "bending" the law, two for defection and two years for abuse of power -- though the court decided on a "combined" term of 15 years, taking into account his cooperation with authorities, Yang told reporters. He was also stripped of his "political rights" for one year.

Wang didn't contest the charges, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency, which published details of the case. Wang has no plans to appeal the sentence, Yang said Monday.

The case also brought to light the first suggestion that Bo knew as early as January that his wife, Gu Kailai, was suspected of murder.

After a one-day trial in August, Gu was found guilty of poisoning British businessman Neil Heywood in a hotel room in Chongqing last November. During her trial, she admitted pouring poison into his mouth, provided by a family aide who was also convicted of the crime.

According to Xinhua, prosecutors said Wang knew "perfectly well" that Gu was suspected of murder, but deliberately covered up for her so she would not be held legally responsible for Heywood's death -- a fact that was repeated during Monday's court session, Yang said.

The court was told that Wang later abandoned his efforts to conceal her crime when relations between the two became strained.