Former vice-minister jailed for accepting bribes
By ZHANG YANGFEI | China Daily | Updated: 2020-01-22 08:40
Meng Hongwei, a former vice-minister of public security and Interpol president, was sentenced to 13 years and 6 months and fined 2 million yuan ($289,730) on Tuesday at Tianjin First Intermediate People's Court for taking bribes.
Meng pleaded guilty and said he would not appeal the ruling.
The court said Meng used his positions as member of the Party committee, vice-minister of public security and director of the China Coast Guard, to obtain benefits for relevant enterprises and individuals in matters such as business operation and job promotion.
He took advantage of these positions to seek improper benefits for others and illegally accepted gifts and properties worth more than 14.46 million yuan, the court added.
The court said Meng's acts constituted the crime of bribery and should be punished according to the law.
It added that the judgment took into account that Meng had pleaded guilty and voluntarily confessed to the majority of his crimes.
Meng, 67, became vice-minister of public security in 2004 and was elected Interpol president in 2016, becoming the first Chinese person to take up the post.
In October 2018, he was put under investigation by China's graft watchdogs for "serious violation of the law" and in the same month, he resigned from his Interpol position.
In March 2019, the National Supervision Commission and the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said Meng was using his posts to seek benefits for others in matters of job promotion and business operations and received a large amount of gifts in return.
He also abused his powers, refused to implement the Party Central Committee's decisions and squandered national funds for his extravagant personal life. It was for these reasons that Meng was expelled from the Party and public positions in March. He was officially charged by the prosecutors in Tianjin two months later and first stood trial in June.
