On October 14, the Supreme People’s Court of China announced a significant verdict from the Intermediate People’s Court of Xiangyang, Hubei Province. This ruling pertains to the bribery case involving Wang Dawei, the former Deputy Governor of Liaoning Province and a former member of the provincial government’s leading party group. The court sentenced Wang Dawei to death with a two-year reprieve for his crime of bribery. In addition, he will lose his political rights for life and all of his personal property will be confiscated. After the two-year suspension, if no further action is taken, his sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or sentence reduction. The court has also ordered the recovery of the bribes and their proceeds, which will be submitted to the national treasury, with additional recoveries pursued as necessary.
Wang Dawei, born in April 1964 in Heilongjiang Province, was officially reported to be under investigation in March 2022. By September of that year, he had been expelled from the Communist Party and stripped of his official position for severe violations of party discipline and the law. Allegations against him include a desire for both power and wealth, exploitation of his position to benefit others in business dealings, and a series of corrupt practices, including arranging fake marriages to disguise his status as a “naked official” and engaging in corrupt appointments.
The court’s investigation revealed that from 2008 to 2022, Wang Dawei, in various roles—ranging from a member of the Harbin Municipal Committee and Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee to positions including Deputy Head of the Heilongjiang Provincial Public Security Department and Secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Public Security Department—utilized his official capacities to assist companies, including Liaoning Zhongwang Group Co., Ltd. and Liaoning Hongyun Investment (Group) Co., Ltd., as well as individuals such as Meng Bing. He illegally accepted bribes, totaling more than 5.55 billion RMB, in the form of cash, cars, and other valuables for his facilitation of business operations, case handling, and promotions.
The court characterized Wang Dawei’s actions as particularly egregious, noting that he used his power to obtain position adjustments for others and intervened in legal matters, all while accepting exceedingly large sums in bribes. This conduct inflicted significant damage on state and public interests and warranted a death sentence.
However, citing his substantial cooperation with the investigation, his truthful account of crimes committed, and the recovery of most of the embezzled funds, the court deemed him eligible for a suspended sentence. Ultimately, upon completion of the two-year reprieval, his sentence will convert to life imprisonment without the possibility of reduction or parole. The court concluded its proceedings with this ruling.
