Graft Watchdog Probes Chongqing Police Chief

The police chief of China's Chongqing municipality, the focus of a government drive against corruption, has been placed under investigation, the anti-graft watchdog said on Sunday.

Deng Huilin, chief of public security and vice mayor in Chongqing, was suspected of "seriously violating disciplinary rules and the law", the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said on its website.

Chongqing has been ground zero for President Xi Jinping's war against graft, with two of its former Communist Party chiefs, both once seen as contenders for China's top offices, jailed for corruption.

Other Chongqing police chiefs have also been in the crosshairs of the anti-corruption drive in the past, with one forced into early retirement and another jailed for bribery.

On the national level, two vice ministers of China's public security ministry, which oversees the police force, have been investigated since 2018.

According to public records, 55-year old Deng, who came from the public security system of Hubei province, worked in Beijing on anti-secession coordination at the national level for two years before being transferred to Chongqing in 2017.

His appointment to Chongqing coincided with the fall from grace of Chongqing's then party secretary Sun Zhengcai, who was accused of "scheming to seize power".

Neither Deng nor Chongqing police could be immediately reached for comment. (Reuters)