The family of a British businessman murdered by the wife of one of China’s most powerful politicians is seeking compensation for his death and has criticised the Chinese government for ignoring their pleas.
The businessman, Neil Heywood, was killed with cyanide at the age of 41 by Gu Kailai, wife of senior Chinese leader Bo Xilai, in a hotel room in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing in November 2011.
In a statement to media on Monday, Mr Heywood’s mother, Ann Heywood, said she was “surprised and disappointed that, despite repeated discreet approaches to the Chinese authorities, there has been no substantive or practical response”, to requests for financial compensation, which is commonly paid to victims’ families in China.