Ex-police chief pleads guilty to graft

The former police chief of Tianjin pleaded guilty to corruption-related charges on Wednesday, a court statement said.

Wu Changshun, the ex-director of the Tianjin Municipal Public Security Bureau and former vice-chairman of the city's political advisory body, stood trial at Zhengzhou Intermediate People's Court in Central China's Henan province for alleged embezzlement, abuse of power, corruption and bribery, according to the court statement.

Zhengzhou prosecutors said during the trial that Wu, 64, abused his positions to illegally gain profits for several companies he privately operated; accepted bribes in return for favors; and embezzled public funds, the statement said.

For example, he abused his positions as police chief and vice-chairman of the Tianjin Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference to illegally possess more than 342 million yuan ($49.7 million) in public funds and accepted more than 84.4 million yuan in bribes after helping others gain illegal benefits, it said.

Meanwhile, he embezzled 101 million yuan in public funds and provided officials of some other administrations in Tianjin with a total of 10.57 million yuan to gain profits for his own companies, it added.

"Wu brought great losses to the country and the people, and also asked his subordinates to shield a suspect," the statement quoted prosecutors as saying.

Wu, a native of Tianjin, started his political career in 1970 and spent 44 years in the city's police system.

He was probed for these corruption-related crimes in 2014, and prosecuted in June last year.

The court did not announce a judgment on Wednesday.