China admits Interpol chief being probed; wife received knife emoji
Wife of Meng says she received knife emoji
BEIJING: China said yesterday the president of Interpol, who went missing shortly after arrival in his home country, is under investigation for possible criminal activity, as Beijing broke its silence about his fate. Meng Hongwei, who is also China’s vice minister of public security, “is currently under investigation on suspicion of violating the law”, according to a statement on the website of the National Supervisory Commission, which handles corruption cases involving public servants.
Meng, the first Chinese president of Interpol, was last heard from on Sept 25 as he left Lyon - where the international police organization is based - for China. His disappearance was disclosed by French officials on Friday but China had remained tight-lipped about his status until now. Meng had lived with his wife and two children in France since being elected Interpol president in 2016.
The agency’s secretary general Juergen Stock, who oversees day-to-day operations, said Saturday that it was seeking “clarification” on his whereabouts from Chinese authorities. It is the latest high-profile disappearance in China, where a number of top government officials, billionaire business magnates and even an Alist celebrity have vanished for weeks or months at a time. When - or if - they reappear, it is often in court.
Speaking to reporters yesterday in Lyon, Meng’s wife said she feared that her husband’s life was in danger. “This matter belongs to the international community,” Meng told a press conference. She said the last social media message she received from her husband came on Sept 25, depicting a single knife emoji. That day, his wife said he sent a social media message telling her to “wait for my call”, before sending the emoji signifying danger. “I’m not sure what has happened to him,” she said. She kept her back turned to the reporters present, and refused to be photographed out of fear for her safety.
China’s recently established National Supervisory Commission holds sweeping powers to investigate the country’s public servants with few requirements for transparency. Although the commission did not detail the allegations against Meng, its mandate is to investigate corruption cases as part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s anti-graft campaign. Some critics of the effort - which has punished more than one million officials say it also functions as a tool for Xi to eliminate his political rivals. — Agencies