China court sentences ex-Interpol chief Meng Hongwei to prison

Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Meng Hongwei, the former head of global law enforcement organization Interpol, was sentenced Tuesday to more than 13 years in prison on corruption charges.

Meng, 66, was sentenced at Tianjin No. 1 Intermediate People's Court and fined nearly $300,000 following a trial that resulted in his conviction on charges he took more than $2 million in bribes and kickbacks as head of Interpol.

The court ordered Meng to serve 13 and a half years.

Meng, who was expelled from China's Communist Party last year, previously admitted to using his position to help companies and individuals make illegal profits. Tuesday, he accepted the judgment and said he won't appeal.

His sentencing came more than a year after Meng abruptly went missing in October 2018 while traveling from his home in Lyon, France, to China -- a disappearance that prompted his wife Grace to file a missing persons report. He later turned up and the Chinese Ministry of Public Security charged him with bribery.

Some cite Meng's case an an example of new anti-corruption efforts by Chinese President Xi Jinping.