Elderly Falun Gong Practitioner Mr Li Fengwen of Heilongjiang Province Died as a Result of the Persecution

Mr. Li Fengwen is a Falun Gong practitioner from Shuangyashan City, Heilongjiang Province. After practising Falun Gong, he became healthy in mind and body. During the six years of persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), he was imprisoned at Shuangyashan City Detention Centre. He was tortured until close to death, and only released after money had been extorted. He died on June 6, 2005.

Mr. Li Fengwen, over 60 years old, lived in the Lingdong District of Shuangyashan City. Because he and his wife had little income, they could not afford medical treatment. They began to practise Falun Gong in 1996 and became healthy. After July 20, 1999, district policeman Cao Zhenzhuang reported them to the public security bureau.

On May 3, 2002, three policemen broke into his courtyard and illegally searched their home. They confiscated their Falun Dafa books, arrested Li Fengwen, detained him and sentenced him to two years of forced labour. At that time, his wife was not at home, so they could not arrest her. The police subsequently harassed their son constantly, and he could no longer live in peace. The residential committee then withdrew Li Fengwen's guaranteed low living expenses and his wife's pension was confiscated by committee chief Chen. At that time, Yu Jiaying of the Lingdong Organization Department told the person who collected wages on behalf of others, "No wages for Falun Gong." Yu Jiaying pocketed the money.

The couple lost their living expenses and became poverty stricken. Li Fengwen's wife worked as a nanny to keep them above water. To make matters worse, their daughter-in-law and two-month-old grandson depended on them. Local policeman Cao Zhenzhuang confiscated the identification card of Li Fengwen's wife. In April 2003, this ID card was required for community labour insurance. His daughter-in-law requested its return, but the police refused to give it back.

As of September 2003, Li Fengwen had been jailed for 16 months. He was tortured cruelly, became muddle-headed, lost the ability to talk and his life was in danger. His family had to pay 350 yuan (1) for his medical check-up in a hospital and over 5,000 yuan for meals and medical treatment. Li Fengwen was on his last breath from the torture at Shuangyashan City Detention Centre. He was released after the police had extorted lots of money.

The already poor family suffered more hardships after being repeatedly persecuted. After Li Fengwen had grown healthier again, he had to work to support the impoverished family. At the end of May 2005, he suffered burn injuries from molten steel at work. Also, one of his eyes was injured by sheet metal. His family had no money for medical treatment. He left the hospital on June 5 and died on June 6.

Note:
(1) 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://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/6/15/104088.html