Liu Yuejin Photo: Chinanews.com/Website of Central Commission for Discipline Inspection

Liu Yuejin, former commissioner for counterterrorism of the Ministry of Public Security, has been placed under investigation for suspected severe violations of Party discipline and laws, an official statement said Monday.

Liu, 65, was a former vice-minister level official and a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

The investigation is being conducted by the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the National Commission of Supervision (NCS), China's top anti-graft watchdogs, according to the statement.

Liu previously had a long tenure in the anti-drug sector, and is most famous for leading the special task force to investigate the Mekong River massacre in 2011, when a gang hijacked two cargo ships and killed 13 Chinese sailors in Golden Triangle waters between Myanmar and Thailand. His team was honored with the Touching China award in 2012. The operation was later adapted into a film, Operation Mekong, in 2016, which garnered a great reception and succeeded at the box office.

Liu served as the commissioner for counterterrorism from December 2015 until June 2020, which makes him the first and so far the only person to have served in this former vice-minister level post.

According to media reports, Liu is the second high-ranking official in the public security system to fall after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in October 2022, and is the 13th senior official announced to be under investigation in 2024.

In the five days following the end of the 2024 two sessions, a number of officials have been investigated for corruption by disciplinary departments, highlighting China's continued undiminished efforts in anti-corruption, observers noted.

Global Times