BEIJING, October 8. /TASS/. Former Interpol President and China’s Deputy Minister of Public Security Meng Hongwei is suspected of bribery and other crimes, the ministry said in a statement on Monday, adding that a probe was underway.
"Chinese State Council member and Party Committee Secretary of the Ministry of Public Security Zhao Kezhi announced at the October 8 meeting of the committee that Meng Hongwei was suspected of bribery and other crimes. The National Supervisory Commission is conducting a probe against him," the statement reads.
The ministry’s Party Committee has set up a special task force to carry out an investigation against Meng Hongwei’s accomplices suspected of corruption. "In order to meet the demands of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee, a special task force will be established to carry out an investigation concerning officials suspected of receiving bribes along with Meng Hongwei," the statement adds.
"The meeting demanded that bribe-taking incidents involving Meng Hongwei be thoroughly investigated. Suspected law violations have caused serious damage to the party and public security agencies. A lesson must be learned from that and conclusions must be drawn," the document says.
Late on Sunday, Chinese authorities officially confirmed the detention of the 64-year-old Meng Hongwei, who had disappeared more than a week ago while on a trip to China. The authorities aid that the deputy minister of public security was suspected of violating the law, so a probe was underway. Neither information of his whereabouts nor other details were provided.
Meng Hongwei has not contacted anyone since he arrived in China on September 29. Interpol sent an official request to Beijing to find out its chief’s whereabouts. On Sunday, the Lyon-based Interpol General Secretariat received Meng Hongwei’s resignation letter with immediate effect. South Korea’s Kim Jong Yang became Acting Interpol President, while a new president will be elected at the organization’s meeting in Dubai on November 18-21.
According to the South China Morning Post newspaper, Meng Hongwei is under investigation in China. The paper said he had been taken away for questioning right after his arrival in China. South China Morning Post also said that the decision about the official’s detention had been made at the highest level since he could be involved in more serious crimes than corruption.
