Interpol head sent wife picture of knife before disappearing

Grace Meng makes first public statement since Meng Hongwei went missing on trip home to China

A journalist holds the mobile phone of Grace, the wife of the missing Interpol president Meng Hongwey, showing wath she says is the last message exchanged with her husband, during a press conference on October 7, 2018 in Lyon, a day after Interpol demanded an official "clarification" from China on the whereabouts of its missing police chief, after reports said he was detained for questioning on arrival in his homeland. Beijing has remained silent over the mysterious disappearance of Meng Hongwei, who was last seen leaving for China in late September from the Interpol headquarters in Lyon, southeast France, a source close to the enquiry told AFP. / AFP / JEFF PACHOUD

The last messages sent by Interpol president Meng Hongwei to his wife before his disappearance. AFP

Oct 08, 2018

The wife of the missing president of Interpol said her husband sent her an image of a knife before he disappeared during a trip to their native China.

Making her first public comments on the mystery surrounding Meng Hongwei's whereabouts, Grace Meng told reporters in Lyon, France on Sunday she thinks the knife was her husband's way of trying to tell her he was in danger.

She said there was no further contact with him since the message sent on September 25. Four minutes before Mr Meng sent the image, he had messaged "Wait for my call".

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Grace Meng said he had travelled back to China for work, after a visit to the Nordic countries.

"His job is very busy," she said. "We connected every day."

Grace, the wife of the missing Interpol president Meng Hongwey, talks to journalists on October 7, 2018 in Lyon during a press conference during which she did not want her face to be shown, a day after Interpol demanded an official "clarification" from China on the whereabouts of its missing police chief, after reports said he was detained for questioning on arrival in his homeland. Beijing has remained silent over the mysterious disappearance of Meng Hongwei, who was last seen leaving for China in late September from the Interpol headquarters in Lyon, southeast France, a source close to the enquiry told AFP. / AFP / JEFF PACHOUD — The wife of missing Interpol president Meng Hongwei, standing, talks to journalists in Lyon on October 7, 2018. AFP

Mr Meng is a senior Chinese security official as well as president of Interpol. The Lyon-based international police agency said on Saturday that it had used law enforcement channels to inquire with China about the president's status.

Grace Meng would not speculate on what might have happened to her husband. Asked if she believed that he was arrested, she said: "In China, what happened, I'm not sure."

She read a statement during her press conference in Lyon, but would not allow reporters to show her face, saying she feared for her safety and of her two children.

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