Beijing: Former Interpol chief Meng Hongwei pleaded guilty at a trial in China on Thursday to accepting USD 2.1 million in bribes - a remarkable fall from grace for the former vice minister of public security. The Tianjin No.1 Intermediate Court said Meng "showed repentance" during the hearing, which was the culmination of a dramatic case that shook the international police organisation and put a spotlight on China's opaque judicial system.'

The verdict will be announced at a "select date or time", said court in northern China in a statement, without specifying further. Photos released by the Tianjin court showed Meng, who disappeared last year, sitting between two police officers in the courtroom, wearing a light brown jacket. His hair had greyed and he appeared gaunt compared to photos from 2017. 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. Over one million officials have been punished so far during Xi's six-year tenure. Meng 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.