BEIJING (Reuters) - A former police chief at the centre of China's biggest political scandal in decades admitted in court that his crimes had had a serious effect both internationally and domestically, Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday in an account of the trial.

"My behavior was criminal, and I hope to redeem and dispel the serious effect it had internationally and domestically via this trial," Wang Lijun, ex-police chief of southwestern Chongqing municipality, told the court, Xinhua reported.

At his trial in the southwestern city of Chengdu on Tuesday he admitted attempting to defect to the United States, and did not contest charges of bribery and illegal surveillance, according to a court spokesman.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)