Mr. Zhong Zhenfu Dies from Cruel Beating in Detention

At around 6:00 p.m. on May 4th, 2008, officers from the Pingdu City 610 Office¹, the City Police Department and the Qingdao City Police Department stormed into houses that were being rented by Falun Gong practitioners as sites producing Falun Gong leaflets exposing the persecution in Pingdu City, Shandong Province. They arrested Ms. Xu Aifang, Mr. Wang Yunchong and Mr. Zhong Zhenfu. In addition, they confiscated a computer, two printers, a disc burner, a copy machine, two satellite dish systems, two electric vehicles, and some Falun Gong books. That same night, the police forced each of these practitioners to sit in an iron chair² and interrogated them. When the practitioners refused to reveal any information to the police, the officers poured boiling water over their necks and bodies.

At around 11:00 p.m. on May 5th, 2008, about twenty officers broke into two other practitioners' homes. They failed to arrest any practitioners, but entered a storage room using a key found on Mr. Zhong Zhenfu, and took three copy machines, a paper cutter, and some personal belongings.

Three days later, the practitioners were taken to the Pingdu City Detention Centre, where the guards put shackles on Mr. Zhong Zhenfu and whipped him about the head with metal wires. His life was in danger after this abuse. He was then detained in a metal cage, and the guards ordered the criminal inmates to torture him. They tried to force him to curse the founder of Falun Gong. When Mr. Zhong refused, they whipped him with metal wires. The beating lasted for over an hour. Finally a kind person persuaded them to stop by telling them that this man was from his home town. By then, Mr. Zhong was injured so badly that he was not able to stand up by himself.

The guards sent Zhong Zhenfu to the hospital. The doctor told them that Mr. Zhong's injuries were very serious. To avoid any responsibility, the detention centre officials released him on medical parole. Mr. Zhong had to stay in the hospital for treatment for over a month, and pay over 10,000 yuan³ in medical expenses. He died on July 20th, 2008.

Related report: http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200807/45308.html

Note

1. "The 610 office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

2. Iron Chair: The "Iron chair" is made of iron pipes. Victims are restrained on the iron chairs with both arms and legs tied for a long period of time, see illustration at http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2002/1/9/17577.html

3. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/7/28/182937.html