Yiyuan County Officers Arrest and Extort Money from Practitioners

Ms. Jiao Fangyu, from Laiwu Iron and Steel Company; and Ms. Zhang Xiaorong and Ms. Li Zaihua, from Huangzhuang Town, Gangcheng District, Laiwu City, Shandong Province, were arrested while speaking with people about Falun Gong in Yiyuan County on May 16th. The police extorted about 100,000 yuan¹ in value and belongings from Ms. Zhang, and extorted 30,000 yuan in cash from Ms. Li. Ms. Jiao was given a term of one and a half years of forced labour and taken to the Wangcun Forced Labour Camp in Zibo City.

Ms. Jiao and the other two practitioners went to Longziyu Village, Xujiazhuang Town, Yiyuan County, Zibo City on the morning of May 16th. When Dong Jibin, a member of the village committee, saw them posting some informational stickers about Falun Gong on a telephone pole outside of the village committee office, he immediately announced it to the whole village using a loudspeaker and led some people to search for them. He also reported it to the police.

The three practitioners were on their way to another village and unaware of the announcement. At around 10:00 a.m., Zuo Feng, director of Xujiazhuang Town Police Station, along with several officers, went after the practitioners in their car and stopped them. The police forced them into the car and took them to the Xujiazhuang Town Police Station.

The police took all the personal belongings the practitioners had and detained them separately. Ms. Zhang tried to speak with the officers about Falun Gong. An officer slapped her face and threatened to disfigure her. The officers also ordered her to reveal her identity and the source of the pamphlets. Ms. Zhang was forced to give them the information in the afternoon.

He Bo, director of Yiyuan Police Department, and officer Li came to the Xujiazhuang Police Station in the afternoon. They kicked Ms. Zhang several times and hit her head with the DVDs. They told her that they were responsible for the arrest of Ms. Liu Nianju, Ms. Zhang's sister-in-law, in 2005. The police also pulled Ms. Li's fingers and forcibly imprinted her fingerprint on a document during the interrogation. They also brutally kicked Ms. Li.

The next day, officers from Yiyuan Police Department, Huangzhuang Police Station, and Xiye Police Station ransacked the homes of Ms. Li and Ms. Zhang. In the mean time, officers from Yiyuan Police Department and Yinshan Police Department went to Ms. Jiao's home and attempted to ransack it. Ms. Jiao's family refused to open the door and the police subsequently left. The police sent the three practitioners to Zibo Detention Centre on the third day, May 18th.

The police extended Ms. Zhang's detention after they learned that she was a business owner. They asked for money from her family. Officer Li initially agreed to release Ms. Zhang in seven days, but it was extended to 15 days. The police extorted personal property valued at about 100,000 yuan from Ms. Zhang. They released Ms. Li after 18 days and extorted 30,000 yuan in cash from her family. Ms. Jiao was given a term of one and a half years of forced labour and is being held in Wangcun Forced Labour Camp in Zibo City.

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/2011/7/16/243986.html