"Committing Suicide to Escape Punishment" Given as the Cause of Elderly Mr. Qi's Death, Family's Appeal Stalled

Twenty days have passed since Mr. Qi Tingsong's death. He was a practitioner from Laiwu City, Shandong Province, and died as a result of inhuman torture. His ill and grieving wife went to the departments concerned every day to appeal on her husband's behalf. However, the officials from the Laiwu City Procuratorate said they would only accept or hear the case when she was able to present a ruling on the cause of death provided by the police department. The officials from the Laiwu Police Department said they would not provide any ruling for her. If they did, it would be "committing suicide to escape punishment" They told Mr. Qi's family it was no use for them to appeal. The officials even threatened Mr. Qi's family through their relatives and neighbours to stop appealing. They said, "Wait until the Olympics are over."

Mr. Qi Tingsong, 67 years old, was a retired teacher from the Ezhuang Coal Mine, Xinwen Mining Bureau in Shandong Province. He was arrested on October 15th, 2007 and taken to Laiwu City Hospital on November 5th for emergency treatment. At 3:10 a.m. the following day, the hospital issued a "Notice of Critical Illness." The medical exam showed that Mr. Qi Tingsong had internal organ failure, upper digestive tract hemorrhaging, and severe internal injuries. When the medical personnel realised that Mr. Qi was near death, they forced the the family to sign a document which would confirm that Mr. Qi had been released from detention. On the morning of November 6th, Yang Leping, Head of the Security Section of Ezhuang Coal Mine, and a group of people from the police, the Procuratorate and court met at Liangpo Police Station. They decided that Mr. Qi "committed suicide to escape punishment" and he was accused of "using an illegal organisation to sabotage implementation of the law." Mr. Qi Tingsong passed away at the Central Hospital of the Xinwen Mining Bureau the morning of November 11th.

When Mr. Qi was in a coma, he had blood in his stool and also spat up blood. Based on the hospital's medical records, he had severe liver, heart, and kidney failure. He was given a blood transfusion for anaemia and upper digestive tract hemorrhage. His mouth was infected. His tongue was dark and retracted. He also had sores in the small of his back and on his arms.

Mr. Qi Tingsong was arrested simply because he believed in Falun Dafa and spoke the truth. Twenty days after his arrest, he died as a result of torture. The officers from the Laiwu City Police Department collaborated with the authorities of Ezhuang Coal Mine in causing Mr. Qi's death. However, they not only remain unpunished, but are still using every ploy to press his family not to appeal. Mr. Qi's wife is not in good health and is very weak. His elder son works at the Ezhuang Coal Mine and his second son is paralysed and confined to bed. In order to stop his elder son from appealing, the coal mine would not allow him to take any time off but forced him to work every day. If he failed to go to work, he would be fired. (According to official government policy, when a parent, spouse, or child dies, direct family members are entitled to 15 days leave to handle the funeral.)

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http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200712/42306.html

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2007/12/4/167704.html