BEIJING: Former Interpol chief Meng Hongwei pleaded guilty Thursday to accepting 14.5 million yuan in bribes as he stood trial in China, state media said.
The court, in the northern city of Tianjin, will announce its verdict at a later date, the official People's Daily said.It added that Meng, China's former vice minister of public security,"showed repentance" during the hearing. It is not clear who Meng's lawyer is and it was not possible to reach him or a legal representative for comment.
Meng is among a growing group of Communist Party cadres caught in President Xi Jinping's anti-graft campaign, which critics say has served as a way to remove the leader's political enemies. He vanished last September during a visit to China from France, where Interpol is based, and was later accused of accepting bribes and expelled from the Communist Party.In May, his wife Grace Meng was granted political asylum in France, after saying she was afraid she and her two children would be the targets of kidnapping attempts.