The political commissar of Luoyang Municipal Bureau who was arrested and forced to confess by torture in prison, the former director of the judicial department instructed fake "Central Commission for Discipline Inspection cadres" to form a special task force for torture and forced confessions | Song family | cultural relics | Jinhua | interrogation | Guo Zhengwei | special task force | Wang Wenhai
On July 31st, the case involving the four brothers of the Song family in Luoyang, Henan Province, will be heard in court.
The evidence obtained by the reporter shows that the eldest of the Song brothers, Song Yanbin, was the main culprit in the cultural relics case supervised by the Ministry of Public Security on December 10, 2002. The protective umbrella of the Song brothers was Wang Wenhai, former director of the Henan Provincial Department of Justice. When the "12 · 10" case made significant progress, the Song brothers gave Tang Sancai, bronze ware, and hundreds of thousands of yuan in cash to Wang Wenhai. After accepting bribes, Wang Wenhai persecuted the police officers of the special task force under the pretext of investigating the "small treasury", resulting in the "12 · 10" cultural relics supervision case being stranded to this day.
In December 2002, Bai Jingfu, then Deputy Minister of Public Security, issued a report letter requesting the complete elimination of the Luoyang Song Brothers cultural relics case. Image source/provided by respondents
Afterwards, the police officers of the special task force reported Wang Wenhai as a protective umbrella for a long time, and Guo Zhengwei, former political commissar of Luoyang Public Security Bureau, expressed support. This made Wang Wenhai increasingly resentful of Guo Zhengwei. In June 2016, Wang Wenhai launched an investigation inside the prison in an attempt to uncover Guo Zhengwei's "residual leakage crime". At that time, Guo Zhengwei was sentenced to life imprisonment for committing the crime of bribery.
The judgment of the Zhenping County Court stated that Wang Wenhai, the then Director of the Henan Provincial Department of Justice, instructed Qu Jinhua to use the pseudonym "Jinye" and impersonate "retired cadres of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection" to direct the investigation of Guo Zhengwei and Ma Haoqiang's "remaining crimes" in prison. At that time, Miao, the deputy director of the Henan Provincial Prison Management Bureau, selected 8 prison guards to form a "special task force". The 8 prison guards used cruel methods such as strong lighting, cool towels to wipe their faces, and playing loud noise to torture and extract confessions from Guo Zhengwei and Ma Haoqiang.
On July 14, 2021, Wang Wenhai was arrested and is currently being sued as a separate case.
On July 14, 2021, Wang Wenhai fell from his horse. Image source/network
On July 29th, the first instance court of Zhenping County sentenced 8 prison guards to the crime of extorting confessions by torture, with 5 sentenced and 3 exempted from criminal punishment.
Wang Wenhai acts as a protective umbrella to receive cultural relics such as Tang Sancai
According to previous reports by Upstream News reporters, in November 2002, someone reported that the Song brothers in Luoyang were reselling and secretly collecting cultural relics. In December of that year, the then Deputy Minister of Public Security, Bai Jingfu, approved in a report letter that the Henan Provincial Public Security Department would directly organize specialized forces, carefully design and command, and launch a cyber attack as soon as possible. The Luoyang Public Security Bureau has established a special task force, and the case is called the "12 · 10" Ministry Supervision Cultural Relics Case.
By the beginning of 2004, the special case team had captured 91 suspects involved in the case, mastered 164 criminal cases of the gang, seized 565 cultural relics of various kinds, and 14 suspect were all sentenced after being transferred to the procuratorial organ for prosecution, of which the Song brothers' boss was the gang's principal criminal.
Just as the task force had achieved phased success, Wang Wenhai took action.
According to evidence obtained by upstream news reporters, during the investigation of the "12 · 10" case, Qu Jinhua, the then captain of the Anti Smuggling Brigade of the Luoyang Public Security Bureau, sought refuge from Wang Wenhai, the then director of the Fifth Department of the Henan Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, in order to prevent him from sheltering and condoning the illegal activities of the Song brothers. Wang Wenhai instructed Qu Jinhua to report disciplinary issues such as the establishment of a small treasury by the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the Luoyang Public Security Bureau through the fabrication of an anonymous report letter.
Subsequently, Wang Wenhai abused his power to take "dual regulation" measures against the police officers of the special task force, and even caused them to hide in the reception center of the Ministry of Public Security and write appeal materials to seek help from the department leaders. Afterwards, the leaders of the special task force and key police officers were successively transferred from public security organs or criminal investigation positions. Some of them were transferred to the police dog brigade to feed police dogs, and the special task force was forced to disband. The Ministry of Public Security's supervision of the cultural relics case was hastily concluded. Unchecked case clues were put on hold for a long time, and no one dared to ask or touch them. No one was willing to preserve the files.
Under the persecution of Wang Wenhai, a captain of a criminal police squadron was transferred to a police dog base in the "12.10" Ministry Supervision Case. Image source/Upstream journalist Shen Du
In June 2023, police officers from the special task force stated in an interview that at that time, the song of tomb robbers was circulating in Luoyang: "Tomb robbers in Luoyang are not afraid of the criminal police team, and the boss is in the discipline inspection commission. Whoever dares to oppose them will be punished." This song reflects the tragic ending of the ancient tomb culture and precious historical relics in the ancient capital of Luoyang, Mangshan, and the powerlessness of Luoyang public security in committing crimes against cultural relics.
Why does Wang Wenhai, this "ghost", have to push the mill?
Evidence shows that the Song brothers gave Wang Wenhai cultural relics such as Tang Sancai, bronze ware, and hundreds of thousands of yuan in cash through Qu Jinhua. During his tenure as a protective umbrella, Qu Jinhua received a huge bribe from the Song brothers.
The former director of Luoyang Public Security Bureau, Zhang Taixue, commanded the "12 · 10" task force to handle the case. He had previously stated in an interview with Upstream News that if it weren't for Wang Wenhai, the Song brothers' gang involved in the crime would have been eradicated; It was precisely because of Wang Wenhai that he consolidated the position of the Song family's gang in the underworld, helped them grow, and committed crimes for nearly 20 years.
Violation of regulations and illegal instructions for investigating the crime of "remaining omissions" in prison
Guo Zhengwei was originally the Political Commissar of the Luoyang Public Security Bureau and Deputy Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of the Luoyang Municipal Committee. He was arrested in 2009 and sentenced to life imprisonment for bribery in June 2012.
According to people familiar with Guo Zhengwei, Wang Wenhai harbors a grudge against him.
In the 1990s, Guo Zhengwei and Wang Wenhai were transferred to a special task force. After handling the case for a period of time, the superior requested Wang Wenhai to leave the task force, and he suspected that Guo Zhengwei was reporting to the leader. After being persecuted, the police officers of the "12 · 10" special task force have long reported to multiple departments that Wang Wenhai is a "protective umbrella". Guo Zhengwei, who was then the political commissar of Luoyang Public Security Bureau, supports this.
The police officers of the task force told Upstream News that in Qu Jinhua's view, Guo Zhengwei blocked his career path. According to people familiar with Guo Zhengwei, Wang Wenhai wanted to promote Qu Jinhua, who was then the team leader, but the then director Zhang Taixue and political commissar Guo Zhengwei strongly opposed it.
In 2016, Guo Zhengwei was serving his sentence in prison. Wang Wenhai, as the "commander-in-chief", began investigating Guo Zhengwei's "remaining omissions".
According to the judgment No. 688 of the Criminal Trial of Yu 1324 in Zhenping County, Nanyang City, Henan Province, after trial and investigation, in June 2016, Wang Wenhai, the then Director of the Henan Provincial Department of Justice, launched an investigation into the prison under the pretext of investigating and punishing inmates Guo Zhengwei and Ma Haoqiang for suspected "leakage crimes" and Guo Zhengwei's falsification of medical records to evade imprisonment. At the time, Miao, the Deputy Director of the Henan Provincial Prison Management Bureau, was arranged by Wang Wenhai to establish a prison investigation "special task force" consisting of former Director of the Pingyuan Prison, Shi, former Deputy Director of the Investigation Department in Zhengzhou City Prison, Wu, former Deputy Director of the Investigation Department in Zhoukou City Prison, Liu, former Deputy Director of the Investigation Department in Pingyuan City Prison, Luo, former Deputy Director of the Investigation Department in Zhoukou City Prison, Jin, former Deputy Director of the Zhoukou City Prison, Jiao, former Police Chief of the Zhengzhou Juvenile Prison Correctional Center, Wang, former Police Chief of the Third Prison of Henan Province, and Cui, former Police Chief of the Third Prison of Henan Province, among others. Shi was clearly designated as the "special task force". The leader of the case team. Wang Wenhai instructed Qu Jinhua to impersonate a retired cadre of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, using the pseudonym "Jinye", to command the "special task force" to carry out interrogation work, and to provide interrogation and confidentiality training to the members of the "special task force". Qu Jinhua divided the members of the "project team" into two groups, Shi, Jiao, Wang, and Jin as one group, with Shi in charge; Wu, Liu, Luo, and Cui formed a group, and Wu was in charge. Therefore, the two groups rotated day and night to carry out interrogation work.
On December 3, 2021, the official WeChat account "Ping An Luoyang" of Luoyang Public Security Bureau in Henan Province issued a notice, publicly soliciting clues on illegal and criminal activities from individuals such as Song Yanbin, Song Yanhai, Song Yanqing, and Song Yanhong. Image source: Ping An Luoyang
Wang Wenhai confessed that he mainly listened to Qu Jinhua's advice. Qu Jinhua believed that Ma Haoqiang was Guo Zhengwei's "money bag", and that solving Guo Zhengwei's problem of accepting Ma Haoqiang's huge bribe was the first step to solve the problem of Guo Zhengwei's network of relationships behind him. "This idea was also decided by me with approval."
Wang Wenhai confessed that according to relevant regulations, the scope of prison investigation is crimes committed by criminals inside the prison. The special task force did not have relevant approval for the interrogation of Ma Haoqiang and Guo Zhengwei, and the interrogation was illegal.
Qu Jinhua sits in prison commanding torture to extract confessions
According to insiders, in the 1990s, Wang Wenhai and Qu Jinhua met while handling cases, and the two had similar personalities and quickly joined forces. For many years, Qu Jinhua has been helping Wang Wenhai charge into battle.
The judgment stated that on June 8, 2016, Wang Wenhai instructed the Henan Provincial Prison Management Bureau to issue a transfer order, transferring inmate Ma Haoqiang from the First Prison in Henan Province to the Yubei Prison in Henan Province for secret interrogation. In order to force Ma Haoqiang to bribe Guo Zhengwei, as well as to privately hide and sell cultural relics, Qu Jinhua commanded Shi, Wu, Liu, and others to fix Ma Haoqiang with a U-shaped lock on a restraint chair or bed, using methods such as strong light illumination, cool towels to wipe his face, playing loud noise, and not allowing him to rest. He worked day and night in shifts to force Ma Haoqiang to confess and physically and mentally torture him. During this period, Ma Haoqiang shouted and banged his head in agony due to prolonged torture, and members of the "task force" put on a helmet for him. The forced confession of Ma Haoqiang lasted for 40 days until July 17, 2016.
Ma Haoqiang stated, "At first, I was asked to go to the outside restroom to defecate. Later, most of the time I solved it in bed, using a basin for defecation and a bottle for urination..."
On July 20, 2016, Wang Wenhai instructed the Henan Provincial Prison Management Bureau to issue a transfer order, transferring inmate Guo Zhengwei from the Second Prison in Henan Province to the Yubei Prison in Henan Province for secret interrogation. In order to coerce Guo Zhengwei into falsifying medical records to evade serving his sentence and offering bribes, Qu Jinhua commanded members of the "special task force" such as Shi, Wu, and Liu to use the same methods as Ma Haoqiang to coerce Guo Zhengwei into giving confessions and physically and mentally torture him. During this period, Guo Zhengwei refused to eat, and the "task force" intubated him with nasal feeding; The task force's forced confession of Guo Zhengwei lasted until December 9th, lasting for more than four months, causing pressure sores on his buttocks and weight loss.
Guo Zhengwei stated that before being tortured to confess, he weighed 136 pounds. On December 16, 2016, when the prison doctor measured his weight, it was only 76 pounds.
Qu Jinhua confessed that during the interrogation, Wang Wenhai stayed at a hotel in Xinxiang and listened to reports multiple times. At the beginning, the interrogation was conducted in accordance with the law and regulations, but the effect was not good. "Wang Wenhai called me a fool because Ma Haoqiang was very manic. Guo Zhengwei went on a hunger strike, refused to cooperate, and the interrogation could not proceed. Wang Wenhai said, 'What is the purpose of using a restraint bed?' Afterwards, Qu Jinhua told the" special task force "to hold a meeting and, according to the instructions of Director Wang, they could use restraint beds, incandescent lamps, and playing music and other illegal means to punish Ma Haoqiang for not cooperating with the interrogation and Guo Zhengwei for not cooperating with the interrogation." The case team used these illegal means. As the guide for organizing the prison investigation project, I conveyed Wang Wenhai's opinion to the team and arranged for the team to use illegal and irregular means during interrogation
8 prison guards forced to confess by torture, 3 guards exempted from criminal punishment
Among the 8 prison guards, 6 expressed their grievances, while the other two pleaded guilty to punishment.
Shi said that he obeyed orders to go to the special task force, acted in accordance with the law, did not extort a confession through torture, and was not guilty. Shi's defense claimed that conducting prison investigation activities in accordance with the will of the Provincial Department of Justice was an official act, and even if there were illegal errors, the legal consequences should be borne by Wang Wenhai.
Wu claimed that he was deceived and coerced by Wang Wenhai and Qu Jinhua, and his illegal behavior was unavoidable. His defense claims that the statute of limitations for prosecution has expired in this case.
Liu claimed that the strong light irradiation and baking were not accurate, the light was used to assist in case handling and interrogation, and the strong volume noise was not accurate, which was a propaganda policy. His defense claimed that Liu had no criminal intention of maliciously obtaining a confession.
Luo said that he did not use torture to extract a confession. His defense claimed that Luo's behavior was significantly minor and should not be considered a crime. He was just a caregiver.
Cui said that after being transferred, the superior leader requested to obey Qu Jinhua's command and keep the work confidential. During the interrogation process, Qu Jinhua was on the side of the command.
Jin said that the use of restraint chairs and beds to prevent criminals from escaping, committing suicide, and self harm is a duty behavior and should be considered innocent. His defense claims that official actions should be the responsibility of the superior who made the decision and order,
Jiao and Wang pleaded guilty to punishment.
The court did not adopt the opinions of the six defenders.
On June 15, 2023, the case of 8 prison guards involved in extorting confessions through torture was publicly tried at the People's Court of Zhenping County, Henan Province. Image source: Official website of Zhenping Court
The Zhenping County Court believes that eight prison guards, as judicial staff, colluded with others during the investigation process in prison to illegally use weapons and use disguised corporal punishment to extract confessions from inmates. Their actions have all constituted the crime of torture to extract confessions, and they are a joint crime. The name of the crime charged by the prosecution is established, and this court supports it. Shi played a major role in the joint crime and was the principal offender. The other seven defendants played a secondary role in the joint crime and were accomplices, so they should be given lighter punishment. The defendants Jiao, Wang, and Cui were able to voluntarily surrender and truthfully confess their criminal facts, which is considered voluntary surrender and a relatively minor crime, and can be exempted from punishment.
On July 29th, the court sentenced 8 prison guards to the crime of extorting confessions by torture in the first instance. Shi was sentenced to 1 year and 8 months, Wu was sentenced to 1 year and 2 months, Liu was sentenced to 1 year, Luo was sentenced to 6 months, and Jin was sentenced to 6 months. Jiao, Cui, and Wang were exempted from criminal punishment.
Upstream News Reporter Shen Du
