Chinese anti-scam blogger killed by contractors hired online to silence his work

A Chinese investigative blogger who exposed telecoms fraud and other illegal activity was killed by criminals hired on social media, according to Chinese media, as the case prompts calls for heavier punishment for his death.

The body of Wu Kai, who used the name “Huijian” on social media and had written for years about telecoms fraud in Southeast Asia, was discovered in southern China in November 2024. His death and details of the case that followed have been revealed this week.

In August 2024, Wu openly accused Liu Ren – a central figure in a conglomerate masterminded by Chinese tycoon Chen Zhi – of being a casino loan shark, beating someone to death, extorting protection fees from shops, operating telecoms fraud compounds and engaging in armed transnational crimes, according to a Jiemian News report on Tuesday.

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Liu was extradited from Cambodia to China in June this year. A police statement at the time said he had been ordered by Chen in 2016 to found a group called Jinbei, which operated telecoms fraud compounds in Cambodia and carried out large-scale telecoms and online fraud involving “extremely large amounts” of money since 2020.

Liu was also charged with illegal detention and intentional injury, and his case was being investigated, Chinese police said.

The state-owned Jiemian News cited court documents in detailing the death of Wu and conviction of his killers, stating that in October 2024, Chinese native Zhao Bing picked up a kidnapping mission on the Telegram networking platform from an anonymous user, “Shaoxiao”.

The task was to kidnap a person who often wrote about telecoms fraud in northern Myanmar on WeChat and force him to reveal who was backing him and delete the articles. Wu’s personal information was given to Zhao, the report said.

In November, Zhao’s accomplices kidnapped Wu and took him to the hills in Huidong county, Guangdong province. Zhao forced Wu to delete the articles and then drove the blogger to another site in Heyuan, where Zhao continued to beat Wu, according to the police statement.

After Shaoxiao did not believe Wu was telling the truth, Zhao repeatedly hit Wu and cut off half a fingernail, the report said. The next day, Zhao took Wu to a hill in Dingnan county in neighbouring Jiangxi province, where he kicked Wu in the head until he was unconscious and sent a photo to Shaoxiao.

He then covered Wu with grass and returned to his hometown in Henan province. Zhao and his four accomplices split the 1 million yuan (US$150,000) payment, according to the report.

Two days later, Wu’s body was found by villagers. A few days after that, police detained the suspects. In December 2025, Zhao was convicted of committing intentional injury and sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, while his accomplices received sentences ranging from 15 months to eight years.

The identity of Shaoxiao has not been revealed.

Prosecutors argued that although Zhao’s initial purpose when taking the assignment was to confine and interrogate Wu, he repeatedly beat the victim violently, including delivering an especially heavy blow to the head.

He also took no steps to aid the victim and left him on a remote hill, which indirectly led to his death, according to the court documents.

Revelations about Wu’s death and the case have shocked the Chinese public, with many asking why contract violence and kidnapping in broad daylight can still occur.

Wu’s friends told the Southern Weekend, a Guangdong outlet, they found it “unbelievable” that he was killed. They said no one had questioned his whereabouts because they had read rumours he had taken money to write the articles or that he had not paid taxes and was under police investigation.

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Others felt the sentencing for Zhao was too light and suggested he should be immediately executed.

Wu Lingling, a lawyer, wrote on Weibo that the perpetrator had put the victim through prolonged illegal confinement, torture and beating, an atrocity far exceeding ordinary violent crimes.

“This case targets anti-fraud activists, so if the criminal purpose is indeed retaliation and suppression of anti-fraud activities, then the harm extends far beyond depriving one person’s life – it lies in using violence to intimidate those who dare to expose crimes,” she wrote.