On October 14, 2024, the Intermediate People’s Court of Xiangyang, Hubei Province, publicly announced its verdict in the bribery case involving Wang Dawei, former member of the Liaoning Provincial Government’s Party Leadership Group and former Vice Governor, as well as former Secretary of the Provincial Public Security Department. The court sentenced Wang Dawei to death with a two-year reprieve for his bribery crimes, stripped him of his political rights for life, and ordered the confiscation of all his personal assets. Following the two-year reprieve, his sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or reduction.
The court found that between 2008 and 2022, Wang Dawei exploited his positions, including serving as a member of the Harbin Municipal Committee, Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, Deputy Secretary and Deputy Director of the Heilongjiang Provincial Public Security Department, Secretary and Director of the Liaoning Provincial Public Security Department, and Assistant Governor and Vice Governor of Liaoning Province. Through these roles, he illegally accepted bribes totaling over 5.55 billion yuan from businesses and individuals, including Liaoning Zhongwang Group Co., Ltd., Liaoning Hongyun Investment (Group) Co., Ltd., and Meng Bing, to facilitate business operations, case handling, and promotions or adjustments in their official capacities.
The Intermediate People’s Court of Xiangyang concluded that Wang Dawei’s actions constituted bribery. His acceptance of bribes resulted in significant promotions and adjustments for multiple individuals, as well as interference in legal cases. The amount of bribes received was particularly massive, the circumstances of his crimes were exceptionally serious, and the social impact was profoundly negative, resulting in considerable losses for the state and its people. For these reasons, the court determined that the death penalty was warranted.
However, taking into account Wang’s significant contributions after arrest, his truthful confession, and his proactive disclosure of previously unknown bribery facts, along with most of the ill-gotten gains having been recovered, the court acknowledged mitigating factors that justified a sentence of death with a suspension of execution. Therefore, it was decided that after the two-year reprieve, his sentence would be commuted to life imprisonment without the possibility of a reduced sentence or parole, leading to the court’s final ruling.
(Reported by CCTV journalists Xi Dan Ni and Zhang Sai)
