Disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai denies taking bribe

Ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai has denied charges of bribery, abuse of power and corruption laid by the prosecutors against him, in contradiction to his earlier confession.

The former Chongqing party boss said that his earlier statement was 'against his will' as he was totally unaware of the details and his mind was blank when he had confessed to the Communist Party's Central Discipline Inspection Committee, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Prosecutors claimed in the Jinan court that Bo had received 3.96 million dollars in bribes from billionaire entrepreneur and close friend Xu Ming, and Tang Xiaolin, a businessman from Dalian, the report added.

Bo's fall from grace was triggered by his police chief, Wang Lijun's sudden escape to the United States.

His wife, Gu Kailai, was convicted last year for murdering the British businessman, Neil Heywood.

Bo was charged with attempted defection as well as abuse of power in covering-up the details in the Heywood murder case.

He was ousted from the Chongqing party in March and subsequently expelled from the Communist Party.

Bo's trial was, meanwhile, likely to be swift and predictable after he had agreed to cooperate, perhaps in exchange for the safety and wellbeing of his family, including his son Bo Guagua.