Falun Gong Practitioner Ms. Li Fumei in Gaocheng City, Hebei Province, Arrested, Her Son Suffers Mental Breakdown

Name: Li Fumei
Gender: Female
Age: In her 60s
Address: Gaocheng City, Hebei Province
Occupation: Retired from the credit union
Date of Most Recent Arrest: October 15th, 2012
Most Recent Place of Detention: Chengguan Police Station
Detention City: Jinzhou
Detention Province: Hebei
Persecution Suffered: Home ransacked, detention, family member tortured

Mrs. Li Fumei, who is a retired from the credit union in Gaocheng, was arrested on October 15th. That day she had gone to Chengguan Town in Jinzhou to explain the facts about Falun Gong. She was reported, and officers from the Chengguan Police Station arrested her and confiscated her electric motorcycle, mobile phone, and other personal belongings.

The police asked her for her home address, but she didn't answer them. They looked at the phone numbers on her mobile phone and called one of her relatives who lives in Hengshui City, Hebei Province. They told the relative that Mrs. Li had been in a car accident in Jinzhou and asked that her family come to Jinzhou immediately. Her relative was worried and called Mrs. Li's husband right away. Mrs. Li's husband left their mentally ill son at home and rushed to Jinzhou, where he went looking for her in all of the three major hospitals in the city but didn't find her. Then he went to the Jinzhou Police Department. He was told that his wife was being detained. He went to Chengguan Police Station to request her release. But the police only allowed him to see her electric motorcycle. No matter how he asked to visit Mrs. Li, he was not allowed to.

Mrs. Li's husband recognized their electric motorcycle right away. Tears rolled down his cheeks. How could he not be sad? His wife had been arrested for telling people the truth, and their son's illness might get even worse if he heard about his mother's arrest. He was really worried about both of them. He felt the burden he was shouldering was too heavy to carry!

Meanwhile, the Jinzhou Police Department notified the Chang'an Town Police Station in Gaocheng to ransack Mrs. Li's home. Her mentally-unstable son was the only person at home at the time. Seeing that the police were taking away so much of their stuff, including Falun Gong materials, he began to get agitated. When the police had loaded everything into their car and were about to leave, the son lost control of himself. Holding a brick in his hand, he stood in front the police car and shouted, “If you dare to take away our stuff, I will destroy you and your car! Return our belongings immediately! Otherwise I will smash your car! I will smash your car!” The police already knew that he had a mental illness since they had been to Mrs. Li's home many times to harass her. Afraid of what he might do, the police unloaded everything from the car. They also called Mrs. Li's husband, who was in Jinzhou, to come home to take care of his son.

The arrest of his mother and the ransacking of their home dealt Mrs. Li's son a major blow, and he had a nervous breakdown. He burned all the Falun Gong materials that the police had found, along with the family's clothes and some electric appliances. When Ms. Li's husband returned, his home was on fire. His neighbours told him what had happened. He came to the Chang'an Police Station, asking the police to come see that his home was on fire and also that his son had suffered a dramatic mental breakdown.

After the police verified that his home was indeed on fire, they told him, “Get that CD burner from the fire. If you can get that out, you can make amends for her crimes by this good deed.” Mrs. Li's husband said angrily, “How can I trust you? You arrested my wife but told me that she had had a car accident. I was fooled and had to go to all three major hospitals to look for her. Don't say 'make amends for her crimes.' I don't even know what crime she has committed! I only know that after practising Falun Gong, she became healthier, became kinder, and kept thinking of others. Our neighbours praised her and our family was happier. Is it a crime to tell this truth to others? You guys talk about freedom of speech every day, but you lock people up who exercise their freedom. How can I trust you?” The police had nothing to say. They said that they would help him get her back.

Ten days have passed and Mrs. Li Fumei is still imprisoned in Jinzhou. The Chang'an Town Police Station officers sent a request to get her transferred back to them, but the Jinzhou police haven't complied. It is unclear what kind of game the Jinzhou police are playing.

Therefore, we are urgently appealing to all local Falun Gong practitioners to help rescue Mrs. Li Fumei. We are appealing to all practitioners overseas to call! And we appeal to all just people to help out!