Hu Wanlin is jailed for 15 years for illegally practising medicine after deaths of at least 16 patients, state media reports

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

A Chinese “quack” doctor who believes water causes disease and has had at least 16 patients die from his treatment was released early from prison only to kill again, state-run media reported on Thursday.

Hu Wanlin, who claimed to be an “omnipotent doctor” but dehydrated a man to death, was sentenced on Wednesday to 15 years in prison for illegally practising medicine, the state-run Global Times said.

Hu, 65, began his so-called healing activities while serving a life sentence for killing a businessman, but was stopped in 1996 after 13 of his patients died, according to reports.

He was freed, but jailed again in 2000 for illegally practising medicine after three more patient deaths, including the then mayor of Luohe city in Henan.

On that occasion Hu was sentenced to 15 years, but he was again given his freedom early, the Global Times said, and mounted a “health retreat” for 12 “patients” last year.

“A 22-year-old college student, Yun Xuyang, a devotee of traditional Chinese medicine, died after taking a substance provided by Hu” at the event, the official news agency Xinhua reported.

Hu theorised that all diseases are caused by water, and that patients needed to be dehydrated with a “magic medicine” using powerful salts, the Global Times said.

He found the student’s official autopsy result at Wednesday’s trial hard to believe, the newspaper reported, claiming that he frequently consumed 1.5kg of the salt and liquid mixture without any ill-effects.

Beijing’s health insurance provides limited coverage to most rural residents, leading some to seek out cheaper alternative treatments.

China also has a long history of traditional medicine, much of it with no orthodox scientific evidence backing it up, which has been blamed for driving illegal trade in endangered species.

In 2010, the health ministry said a diet therapist who sold more than 3m books and DVDs claiming that a combination of mung beans and aubergine could cure almost all diseases had faked his qualifications.

Lu Wei, one of Hu’s proteges who promoted him online as a medical master who could cure diabetes and Aids, was sentenced to 11 years in prison by a court in Henan, in central China.

It was not clear why Hu had not been charged with murder in connection with the medical cases. His 2000 conviction resulted in an official system of medical licensing being established in China, the Global Times said.

According to other Chinese media reports, Hu was also condemned to 15 years in prison in 1974 for “anti-revolution” activities.