Former Director of Henan Provincial Department of Justice Wang Wenhai Dies in Prison Before Second Trial Verdict

(October 15, 2024) Former Director of the Henan Provincial Department of Justice, Wang Wenhai, who had already fallen from power, passed away due to illness on October 13. His related legal case has concluded its second trial, but a verdict has yet to be delivered.

According to a report by *Beijing Youth Daily*, multiple sources within Henan’s political and legal system confirmed that 69-year-old Wang Wenhai died on October 13 due to a sudden illness. That same day, in the presence of his family, the Nanyang City Public Security Bureau conducted an inspection of his body, though the results have not yet been disclosed.

Public records show that Wang Wenhai was a native of Mianchi County, Henan Province, and had served in the province’s judicial system for an extended period. Beginning in March 2004, he held positions as the Deputy Director of the Henan Provincial Department of Supervision, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Committee for Political and Legal Affairs, and Director of the Office for Preventing and Handling the Problem of X Cults under the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government (the "610 Office"). In 2008, he was appointed as Director and Party Secretary of the Provincial Department of Justice, retiring in 2017.

Both the Henan "610 Office" and the Henan Department of Justice have been listed by the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong for actively following the Jiang Zemin faction of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. During his tenure as Director of the Henan Department of Justice, Wang Wenhai was also listed as one of the responsible parties involved in these actions.

On July 14, 2021, four years after his retirement, Wang Wenhai was placed under investigation. In November 2023, the Nanyang Intermediate Court found Wang guilty in the first trial of eight charges: bribery, influence-peddling, abuse of power, torture, dereliction of duty by granting lenient sentences or parole, covering up organized crime, false accusations, and illegal possession of state secrets and confidential documents. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The second trial verdict is still pending.

Reports indicate that Wang Wenhai was a "protective umbrella" behind the major Luoyang tomb-raiding case. Zhang Taixue, the former head of the Luoyang Public Security Bureau, claimed that in 2002, during the investigation of the "12/10" cultural relics case—supervised by the Ministry of Public Security—Second-Level Senior Superintendent Song Yanhai of the Luoyang Public Security Bureau was investigated. However, the biggest obstruction to the case at that time was Wang Wenhai.

In November 2002, there were reports that the Song brothers (Song Yanbin, Song Yanhai, Song Yanqing, and Song Yanhong) from Luoyang were involved in trafficking and hoarding cultural relics. The Luoyang Public Security Bureau set up a special task force to investigate the "Song Brothers" and other tomb-raiding gangs. During the investigation, over a hundred leads related to cultural relic crimes were uncovered, involving nearly a hundred individuals.

However, during the investigation in 2004, several police officers from the task force were suddenly placed under "dual regulation" and later transferred out of their investigative posts or the public security system altogether. As a result, the investigation into the cultural relics smuggling case was halted, allowing some suspects to evade prosecution or receive lighter sentences.

Nearly 20 years later, following Wang Wenhai’s downfall, other "protective umbrellas" were arrested, and the "12/10" cultural relics smuggling case was reopened. In August 2023, some members of the "Song Brothers" tomb-raiding gang were indicted, and the details behind how Wang Wenhai and others halted the investigation were finally revealed.

A public announcement from the Henan police stated that Wang Wenhai and his close associate, Qu Jinhua, former head of the Luoyang Public Security Bureau’s Anti-Smuggling Division, acted as protective umbrellas for the four Song brothers. Wang instructed Qu to fabricate anonymous reports accusing members of the special task force of misconduct. Through Qu, the Song brothers gave Wang valuable Tang Dynasty tri-colored glazed pottery, bronze artifacts, and hundreds of thousands of yuan in cash. During his time as a protective umbrella, Qu also accepted substantial bribes from the Song brothers.

Editor: Lin Congwen