Qigong master to the stars arrested in China over disciple's murder
Wang Lin had been involved in a series of disputes with Jiangxi legislator
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 16 July, 2015, 10:27pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 16 July, 2015, 10:29pm
Li Jing [email protected]
Arrested: the qigong master Wang Lin. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Wang Lin, the controversial qigong master who had many high-profile celebrity clients, was arrested on Thursday by Jiangxi police on suspicion of involvement in the kidnapping and murder of one of his "disciples".
Police arrested two men, surnamed Liu and Zhu, on Tuesday evening, Xinhua News Agency reported. Police said the pair had admitted that they kidnapped and murdered the disciple, identified in media reports as Zou Yong, who went missing on July9.
During their investigation, police had learnt that Wang and a fourth man identified as Huang Yugang were also involved, Xinhua reported, adding that the investigation was continuing.
Reports said that the dead man was a businessman and provincial legislator in Jiangxi who had been close to Wang and had become one of his last disciples. But the two fell out in late 2012 amid commercial disputes.
The Beijing News reported that the two had sued each other in four cases involving disputes over the ownership of several properties and luxury liquor.
Wang had also reported Zou to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the top graft-buster, claiming that he was involved in bribery, news website Thepaper.cn reported.
Wang's wife said her husband had been taken by police to "assist the investigation" into Zou's disappearance, Shenzhen Evening News reported.
Wang had been accused of practising medicine illegally, but his name was cleared last week after a two-year investigation found no evidence to prove the allegation.
In 2013, several celebrities had accused Wang of charging exorbitant fees for medical services and claimed he had no expertise.
The health bureau in Luxi county had subsequently informed state media that he indeed lacked any formal qualifications. It said he had avoided the suspicion of the authorities by running his clinic inside his home in Pingxiang .
Wang, who once claimed to be a billionaire, attracted a large number of followers and high-profile clients, often opening his five-floor villa and garden to visiting celebrities and journalists.
Photos have circulated widely online of Wang posing with former Hong Kong chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, former Guangdong political advisory body chairman Zhu Mingguo , disgraced railways minister Liu Zhijun , actors Jackie Chan and Jet Li, and others.
Since the accusations emerged, Wang has stayed out of the public eye, and temporarily hid out in a hotel in Hong Kong, where he acquired permanent residency nearly two decades ago.
The Beijing News reported in 2013 that Wang had been jailed in 1979 for seven years for deception.
