Cambodia arrests Frenchman linked to Bo Xilai scandal

PHNOM PENH/PARIS (Reuters) - A French architect connected to China's biggest political scandal in two decades has been arrested in Cambodia, police and French sources said on Tuesday.

Patrick Henri Devillers, 52, is one of two Westerners in China known to have had close business ties to the family of deposed Chinese politician Bo Xilai, specifically with Bo's wife who is accused of murdering British expatriate, Neil Heywood.

"There was an arrest of this French man in relation to a crime in China," said Touch Narouth, police chief in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.

He declined to give further details.

A source at the French embassy confirmed Devillers had been arrested.

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said a French citizen had been arrested in Cambodia.

"We are offering our consular services, are in contact with Cambodian authorities and are following the investigation," he said, adding that Paris was seeking confirmation of why the man had been arrested.

(Reporting By John Irish in Paris and Prak Chan Thul in Phnom Penh; Editing by Jon Hemming)