The Iron Judge and the Balcony Murder

Dao Wenbing, a once-famed "iron judge" who presided over high-profile death penalty cases like those of Ma Jiajue and Sun Xiaoguo, was convicted of murdering his mistress, Yang Ping, by pushing her off a 23rd-story balcony in 2019. The investigation into the death exposed a wider web of systemic corruption in Yunnan, revealing that the pair were involved in money laundering, illegal firearm possession, and a scandalous "shared mistress" arrangement with other high-ranking officials that had left Dao bitter over his stalled career. Ultimately, the man who famously championed the strict enforcement of the law was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for intentional homicide and bribery, marking a total reversal of his former moral status.