The whistle-blower who first revealed illegal additives were being used in dairy products died 12 days after being stabbed by his wife who is in custody but has yet to be charged, police in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, said on Friday.
At a press conference, Xi'an police said Jiang Weisuo was stabbed in the chest by his wife, Yang Ping, after the couple argued over financial matters on November 2.
Police have not yet laid murder charges against Yang, who told police she was a victim of spousal abuse.
During the couple's fight, Yang called her sister and her brother-in-law to help her resolve an argument with her husband.
During the fight, Jiang was stabbed in the chest and died in a local hospital on November 14.
The police have arrested Yang, Yang's sister and her brother-in-law. They said Yang had admitted to stabbing her husband. Police said they won't formally charge Yang until a second medical examiner's report confirms Jiang's cause of death.
Yang and Jiang, 44, had been married just over five months and friends said they seemed like a happy couple. Yang, however, told police that Jiang had a drinking problem and often beat her when he was drunk.
Police confirmed they had received a spousal abuse complaint from Yang a month after the couple's wedding.
Jiang, originally a farmer from Xianyang, Shaanxi Province, published an investigative report in 2006 on the status of western China's dairy industry, revealing that dairy farmers were exploited by large corporations and that illegal additives were being used in some dairy products.
Jiang's report drew attention from Premier Wen Jiabao, who later called for a thorough investigation of the dairy industry.
Jiang became known to the public in 2007 after doing interviews on China Central Television.
In 2008 the infamous melamine scandal made headlines after thousands of infants were sickened.
