Fu Zhenghua, a member of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and former deputy director of the social and legal affairs committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), pleaded guilty in the first trial on Thursday at the Intermediate People's Court of Changchun in Northeast China's Jilin Province, over suspected bribery and law violations for personal gains, the High People's Court of Jilin Province announced that day.

According to the announcement, from 2005 to 2021, Fu took advantage of his positions, including head of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, vice minister of public security and deputy director of the social and legal affairs committee of the National Committee of the CPPCC, to provide convenience to some institutes and individuals in company operation, position adjustment and disposal of cases, through which Fu and his relatives took bribes worth 117 million yuan ($17 million).

Fu was also accused of concealing crime clues of his brother Fu Weihua, when he served as head of the Beijing public security bureau from 2014 to 2015. That allowed Fu Weihua to avoid prosecution for a long time and the circumstance is very serious, read the announcement.

The procuratorate asked to hold Fu Zhenghua criminally liable for the offenses of bribery and law violations for personal gains. The procuratorate showed relevant evidence and Fu Zhenghua and his attorney cross-examined, according to the announcement.

Fu Zhenghua pleaded guilty and showed penitence at the court. The verdict will be announced on another day, according to the announcement.

The trial on the suspicion of bribery was open to the public and audited by about twenty people. The charge on suspicion of law violations for personal gains was closed as it concerns national security, according to the announcement.

Fu Zhenghua, 67, served as justice minister between March 2018 and April 2020 before assuming deputy head at the Committee on Social and Legal Affairs of the National Committee of the CPPCC.

He was a seasoned public security officer who had taken part in the investigations of multiple major cases during his tenure at the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau. Months after he was appointed as the Beijing police chief in February 2010, Passion Club, or Tianshang Renjian, one of the Beijing's top nightclubs, was shut down amid a sweeping crackdown on sex trade.

China's top anti-graft body the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and National Supervisory Commission announced in October 2021 that Fu Zhenghua, deputy director of the social and legal affairs committee of China's top political advisory body, had been put under disciplinary and supervisory investigation for suspected violations of Party disciplines and laws.

Fu was expelled from the CPC and dismissed from public office for serious violations of Party discipline and the law, the top anti-graft body announced in March after the investigation.

According to the investigation, besides taking advantage of his position to seek benefits for others and illegally accepting numerous properties, Fu also violated gun control regulations, illegally possessed guns and engaged in superstitious activities.

Fu did not stay true to the Party's ideals and faith, displayed "extremely inflated political ambition and very poor political integrity," issued groundless criticism of the Party's policies, and deceived the central government on major issues.

Fu also joined the political gang of Sun Lijun, former vice minister of public security, who was ousted and prosecuted in 2021 for bribery, stock market manipulation and illegal gun possession.

The fall of Fu, such a high-profile individual who used to be a "star" official, demonstrates China's iron fist against corruption, experts said.