Police Hang 70 Year-Old Man From a Rack, Leaving Him to Die Days Later

NEW YORK, August 5, 2002 (Falun Dafa Information Center) – Today, as 16 Swiss and Hong Kong practitioners of Falun Gong are on trial in the SAR for peacefully appealing outside China’s Liaison Office to end the torture and killing of Falun Gong practitioners in China, reports surface of eight more deaths due to police brutality on the Mainland.

Reliable sources inside China have verified details of the following deaths:

Zhang Aijiao, a 39 year-old woman from Xiaolan Village, Xiantao City, Hubei Province

Mr. Huang, a 70 year-old man from Wushan County, Gansu Province

Mrs. Li, a woman from Penglai City, Shandong Province

Mr. Zhang Zhuo, a 32-year-old government official from Leshan City, Sichuan Province

Wu Mingfang, a 36 year-old woman from Suizhou City, Hubei Province,

Wang Jinling, a 53 year-old woman from Mancheng County, Hebei Province

Mr. Wang Shenggui, 35, a monk at the Yuquan Taoist Temple in Tianshui City, Gansu Province

Wang Haoyun, a staff member at Huazhong University in Wuhan City, Hubei Province

Woman Hounded and Finally Tortured to Death by 610 Office

Zhang Aijiao, 39, was from Xiaolan Village, Xiantao City, Hubei Province. After July 20, 1999, the local police station and the 610 Office repeatedly detained Ms. Zhang, shuttling her between a detention center and brainwashing classes. In early 2002, the 610 Office arrested Ms. Zhang again while she was at home cooking. Upon taking her back to the brainwashing center, the officials whipped her in the head with bamboo strips, kicked and punched her, and then hung her from a window frame by a pair of handcuffs. When Ms. Zhang began a hunger strike in protest of the inhumane treatment, officials force-fed her, beating her even more brutally and injecting her with unknown substances, according to sources familiar with her case.. After forty days of beatings and torture, Ms. Zhang was released to her husband in critical condition, with festering wounds that covered her body. Officials with the 610 Office continued to come to her home to harass her until, on May 24, 2002, Ms. Zhang passed away having never recovered from the torture.

Gansu Province Police Hang a 70-year-old Man from Rack for 3 Days and 3 Nights, Later Claim It Was Suicide

Falun Gong practitioner Huang Yuanyi and his mother, wife and daughter went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong at the end of December 2000, leaving his father behind to look after the home. The Wushan County Police heard about the family’s plans and hung Huang’s 70-year old father from a rack in his yard at his home in order to force him to reveal his family’s whereabouts. Refusing to talk, the elderly man was hung like this for 3 days and 3 nights without food or water, and finally died at the end of the third day. According to sources familiar with this case, the authorities later claimed that his death was the result of suicide.

Police Torture Woman to Death, Then Interfere with Her Funeral

Mrs. Li, of Shandong province, traveled to Beijing at the beginning of February 2002 to appeal for the practice of Falun Gong and for her freedom of belief. She was illegally detained, however, and was beaten until she fell into a coma. Beijing policemen then sent her back to Shandong Province, where she was admitted to the Penglai Hospital in Penglai City, and died in mid-February.

Man in the Prime of His Life Tortured to Death in One Day

Zhang Zhuo was a 32-year-old official at the Agricultural Department from Leshan City, Sichuan Province. Mr. Zhang was taken into custody on June 7, 2002, and the very next day his wife was notified of his death. When she demanded to see his body, the police only allowed her to look in from a window, rather than up close, and then hastily cremated Mr. Zhang’s body. Even from the window, Mrs. Zhang could clearly see signs of severe trauma on the face, such as deep bruising and residual blood around the mouth. She could even see marks on Mr. Zhang’s neck obviously made by a rope. Zhang Zhuo is survived by his wife and 6-year-old son.

Formerly Healthy Woman Severely Tortured, Enters Coma Hours After Her Release and Dies

Wu Mingfang, 36, from Suizhou City, Hubei Province, was arrested on May 7, 2002 and sent to the No. 2 Detention Center of Suizhou, where she went on a hunger strike in protest of the ill treatment of the practitioners being detained. Two months later when it appeared that Ms. Wu’s health was failing, the detention center released her. On the same day of her release, Ms. Wu went into a coma and was rushed to the hospital by her family. She passed away in the early morning of July 18 at a local hospital.

53-Year-Old Woman Arrested at Wedding Celebration and Beaten to Death While in Detention

Wang Jinling, 53, was from Mancheng County, Hebei Province. She was arrested and sent to the county’s detention center on April 26 while celebrating the wedding of a friend’s son. Approximately two months later, Ms. Wang’s family members were notified on July 6 of her death. Authorities cremated the body soon after. Witnesses reported that her body had visible signs of being tortured, including large bruises and blood at the corners of her mouth.

Monk Dies from Abuse While in Custody

Wang Shenggui, 35, was a monk at the Yuquan Taoist Temple in Tianshui City, Gansu Province. Upon being discovered reading a Falun Gong book, Wang was arrested in December 2000. Mr. Wang was transferred to Min County on March 9, 2001, where he began a hunger strike and refused all attempts by the police to coerce him into renouncing Falun Gong. More than forty days later in mid-July 2001, Wang Shenggui passed away as a result of the abuse suffered while in detention.

University Staff Member Tortured to Death in Brainwashing Class

Wang Haoyun was a staff member at Huazhong University in Wuhan City, Hubei Province. On June 3, 2002, Mr. Wang and two other staff members were arrested and sent to a brainwashing center, where they suffered mental humiliation and brutal torture. On July 8, reports from the brainwashing center indicated that Wang Haoyun had died.