 "Bo's trial: severe sentence demanded amid sensational claim")
"The defendant's crimes are extremely serious. He pleaded not guilty to the charges, and there are no extenuating circumstances suggesting lighter punishment", prosecution told the court in Jinan in east China's Shandong province, winding up five days of dramatic hearing against 64-year-old Bo.
"It must be dealt with severely according to the law," the prosecutors said, sparking speculation that Bo could either get death sentence, suspended death sentence or life sentence.
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Bo, a politburo member of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) and the head of the Chongqing city was sacked last year after allegations of his wife Gu Kailai's involvement in the murder of a British businessman Neil Heywood in November 2011 surfaced early last year.
He was also removed from the ruling party following allegations of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power against him.
The Jinan Intermediate Court, which heard the case regarded as the most sensitive after the 1981 'Gang of Four' trial' involving Mao Zedong's widow,, said its proceedings formally ended today after five days and the verdict would be pronounced at a later date.
Observers say Bo's defiant rebuttals denying all charges of bribery, embezzlement and power abuse against him may attract death penalty making him the first leader to go to gallows in recent times.
For his part, Bo hit back today making a sensational disclosure that Wang Lijun, who worked as police chief under him in the Chongqing city and defected to the US Consulate there alleging reprisals from him, had an illicit affair with his wife Gu.
Debunking Wang's claims, Bo, a hardline Maoist and critic of CPC reformist ideology, told the court Gu and Wang were "like glue and paint".
"In fact they had a very special relationship," Bo said, referring to 54-year-old Gu and Wang.
"I was very upset about it," the South China Morning Post quoted Bo as saying.