A Corporate Manager in Critical Condition, His Associate Persecuted to Death

Mr. Zhao Bin, 58, was arrested in Shanghai and sentenced to four years in prison. He was persecuted to death just 46 days after being incarcerated in Tilanqiao Prison. He passed away on October 19th, 2013.

Mr. Pang Guangwen, who was arrested at the same time as Mr. Zhao Bin, is currently in critical condition in the Shanghai Prison Hospital.

Mr. Pang was a general manager at a logistics company in Shanghai. Mr. Zhao was an associate there. On April 27th, 2012, both practitioners were arrested by a group of police officers. Most were plainclothes agents, but two wore a uniform. One was identified as Tang Ping from Sanzao Town, and another one was from the Jiangsulu Police Station in Changning District. None of the agents showed any ID.

Both Mr. Zhao and Mr. Pang were incarcerated in the Changning Detention Centre.

Tortured in Detention

In the detention centre, Mr. Pang was tortured with a device that simultaneously handcuffed his hands and shackled his feet. This torture continued for a week beginning on May 14th, 2012. He was not released from the device even when he had to use the toilet. As a result, he could not stand straight at all.

Mr. Pang began a hunger strike to protest the abuse on May 22nd, 2012. Subsequently, he was force-fed on May 24th while being tied to an iron chair. The brutal insertion of the feeding tube caused him to vomit and bleed from his nose.

He was transferred to the Shanghai Prison Hospital on May 27th, 2012, in critical condition. There, he was tied to a bed and force-fed daily. He was also injected with an unknown drug, which caused muscle atrophy. He quickly lost over 66 pounds.

On August 1st, 2012, with righteous public support from mainland China and overseas, Mr. Pang was finally released for medical treatment. Prior to his release, the Changning Domestic Security Division extorted 20,000 yuan¹ from his family, which was never returned.

On July 5th, 2013, a court notified Mr. Pang to appear for a trial on July 11th at 2:30 p.m. On July 8th, he went to the Changning District 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) to speak to director Wei Guozong (address: Room 501, 1173 Yuyuan Road, Changning District).

Wei Guozong did not show up, so Wang Guangcai from Room 509 met with Mr. Pang instead.

Mr. Pang explained the facts about Falun Gong to him and asked him to cancel the trial. Instead, Wang and his agents arrested Mr. Pang on the spot.

Mr. Pang's wife and daughter had accompanied him to the 610 Office. The agents beat up both women.

Unjust Trial

Around 2:30 p.m. on July 11th, 2013, Mr. Pang and Mr. Zhao were brought to trial by the Changning Court. Mr. Pang was sentenced to five years in prison. Mr. Zhao was sentenced to four years.

Mr. Pang was dragged into and out of the courthouse with his eyes covered. He did not speak the entire time. His family had hired a lawyer, Guo Haiyue, to defend him. However, his defence statement was interrupted twice by the Judge.

Mr. Zhao had been detained in the Changning Detention Centre for over a year prior to the trial. His workplace found several lawyers to defend him, but the lawyers were obstructed by the authorities. Only one lawyer was able to see Mr. Zhao in the detention centre. However, this lawyer understood little about the case and refused to enter a not-guilty plea. As a result, Mr. Zhao did not hire him and was forced to defend himself in court.

Mr. Zhao Persecuted to Death

Mr. Zhao was transferred to the Tilanqiao Prison in Shanghai on September 3rd, 2013. He died suddenly on October 19th, while still being imprisoned.

Mr. Zhao, originally from Shandong Province, appeared very healthy prior to his transfer to the prison. Multiple reports published on the Minghui website reveal that Tilanqiao Prison has deployed extremely brutal means to torture Falun Gong practitioners in an attempt to “transform” [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] them.

The Shanghai 610 Office has instigated the prison guards to persecute practitioners via vile means, offering them bonuses for “transforming” practitioners and thereby encouraging them to commit crimes on a daily basis.

Mr. Pang in Critical Condition

On July 8th, 2013, the day of his arrest, Mr. Pang began a hunger strike to protest the persecution. On July 19th, he was sent to the Shanghai Prison Hospital, where he was kept tied to the bed and force-fed.

His condition has continued to deteriorate, and he now vomits whatever he eats. Similar symptoms were experienced by other practitioners who were persecuted to death through suspected food poisoning.

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.