A senior engineer of professorial rank, Luo Huaibin, former deputy director of the Information Technology Department of the Central South Survey and Planning Institute of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration of China, passed away suddenly while on a business trip in Tibet. His wife has continued to claim through posts that Luo was “deliberately murdered” in Tibet.
On July 30th, the Central South Survey and Planning Institute of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration of China issued a statement on its official website, stating that the Hunan Xiangya Forensic Appraisal Center had informed the cause of Luo Huaibin’s death as “a sudden cardiac death due to a coronary artery atherosclerotic heart attack.” The institute provided details of Luo’s work arrangements in Tibet, indicating that his schedule was part of normal work assignments.
The institute mentioned that following Luo Huaibin’s passing, a post-funeral work leadership team was established to assist family members in handling affairs. They confirmed that Luo Huaibin had sacrificed his life in the line of duty.
After the incident, local public security authorities ruled out homicide, with forensic appraisal confirming the cause of death due to a coronary artery atherosclerotic heart attack, leading to the decision not to file a case.
The statement highlighted that Luo Huaibin’s family did not accept the cause of death determined by the public security authorities, rejecting post-funeral arrangements and continuing to appeal and post online, garnering attention from a wide audience. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission stationed at the Ministry of Natural Resources reported the investigation findings related to leadership issues at the Central South Survey and Planning Institute of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration: “Some of the individual issues raised are true, and according to regulations, appropriate actions such as criticism and education have been taken against relevant personnel, while no other issues were found.”
Following Luo Huaibin’s sudden death, posts on mainland Chinese social media platform Weibo from the account @LuoHuaibin’s Wife revealed that on April 27, 2020, Luo Huaibin, a staff member of the Central South Survey and Planning Institute of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, was tragically murdered while executing natural reserve integration and optimization tasks in Lhoka County, Shannan, Tibet. The case remains in a state of concealment, with the incident not being reported formally, no cases filed, and investigations not carried out.
@LuoHuaibin’s Wife continued to post, stating that Luo Huaibin’s body remains frozen in Lhasa awaiting resolution. Based on known facts, Luo’s wife accused certain high-ranking officials within his previous workplace of conspiring to murder him. Allegations of tampering with evidence, destroying evidence, and collaborating to cover up the truth were made against the individuals involved after the incident.
She urged the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission to jointly conduct a comprehensive investigation and resolve the case.
Luo Huaibin’s wife also posted stating that four years after his death, his body is still held at the Xishan Funeral Home in Lhasa. In a post on January 28, she identified herself as Luo Huaibin’s wife, Zhou Meiru, revealing that he had reported corruption by senior officials of the Central South Survey and Planning Institute of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, leading to his tragic fate. She called for media coverage and public support to bring justice to this case.
As Luo Huaibin had previously filed reports about violations and corruption within the Central South Survey and Planning Institute of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, some netizens questioned why the accused persons were untouched while the whistleblower faced dire consequences.
Netizen “Legal Corruption Fighter abc”: The State Forestry and Grassland Administration talking to itself is hard to believe. Why are they not openly addressing the concerns raised by the family? Are they trying to cover it up more intensely than burying bodies on a playground? If they have nothing to hide, why fear the truth coming out?
Public records show that Luo Huaibin, born in 1966 from Xuanhan, Sichuan, was a senior engineer mainly involved in forestry survey planning and design work. The Central South Survey and Planning Institute of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration is directly under the State Forestry and Grassland Administration and serves as a large-scale forestry survey planning institute, integrating forestry resource survey and monitoring, forestry engineering consultation, and forestry informatization construction.