Accountant Arrested, In-Laws Appeal for His Release, Father-in-Law Dies from Grief and Anger

Mr. Chen Fu was arrested on July 19th, 2013, because he practises Falun Gong and had talked with people about Falun Gong and the persecution. His elderly in-laws appealed for his release to no avail. His father-in-law died one month later with grief and anger.

Practitioner Arrested While Celebrating His Son's Birthday

Mr. Chen lives in Sujiatun District of Shenyang City. His son turned eight years old on July 19th, 2013, so this was a special day for the family. As the family was celebrating the son's birthday at home that evening, a number of police officers broke into the home. Mr. Chen was arrested and his personal belongings confiscated. This had a tremendous impact on his family, as they rely solely on his income.

The arresting officers were from the Dongling District Domestic Security Division and the Shenjingzi Police Station, in Shenyang City. The officers had been instructed by local Chinese Communist Party (CCP) staff to conduct the arrest.

Parents-In-Law Seek Justice and His Release--Father-In-Law Dies

Despite their advanced age and health condition, Mr. Chen's parents-in-law travelled a long distance in order to seek justice, but they were unable to obtain his release. As a result, his father-in-law died in grief on August 21st. Mr. Chen has been detained in the Shenyang Detention Centre, Dongling District for over three months.

Mr. Chen's father-in-law had worried about his safety since his arrest. Prior to passing away, he mumbled, “My son-in-law shouldn't have been arrested. The CCP is very bad and its members always persecute good people.”

Bringing Light to the Community

Mr. Chen, 43, began practising Falun Gong when he was in his early twenties. He was employed as an accountant at the former Shenyang Nonferrous Metal Processing Factory. He was perceived as capable, dedicated, and helpful by his management and colleagues, and was recognised and appreciated. In the community where he lives, the street lights often malfunctioned, but nothing was done about it. Mr. Chen took the initiative to get someone to fix the problem, and he also bought and paid for the appropriate lamp parts. Everything worked well after that, thus the neighbours thanked him for bringing light to the community.

On some occasions the classmates of his child sometimes didn't return home after school. The teacher became worried and sent text messages to the parents. In order to help out, Mr. Chen put aside what he was doing and looked for the missing children.

When Mr. Chen was shopping at the supermarket, and was not charged enough for the goods purchased, he always made sure that he paid the correct amount. Mr. Chen did many other good deeds, similar to the ones mentioned above.

Mr. Chen's parents died when he was young. When he got married, he took care of his parents-in-law, and his in-laws acknowledged him as a good man.

Family Seeks Justice, Hires Defence Lawyers to Prove His Innocence

After Mr. Chen's arrest, despite their age and health, his in-laws traveled to the Shenjingzi Police Station in the Dongling District of Shenyang City to seek justice for him. Other family members went to the Domestic Security Division of the Police Department, as well as other departments, seeking justice for him. They were told that the arrest orders came from the senior level ranks.

Mr. Chen's family inquired as to the reason for his arrest. The response from officials at the police department made no sense. They claimed when Mr. Chen was working at the Shengfeida Factory, which produced waterproof building materials, in 2012, he told a co-worker some facts about Falun Gong and its positive health effects, because his co-worker was sick at that time.

Because he cared about his co-worker, these officials turned this compassion into an excuse to persecute him. They did this because they wanted to be recognised and rewarded by their superiors. These police officers subsequently refused to see or speak with Mr. Chen's family.

His family hired two lawyers to defend him. According to these lawyers, Mr. Chen had broken no laws, and his behaviour actually complied with laws governing constitutional freedom of belief and freedom of expression. The lawyers also stated that Chen Fu's arrest, confiscation of his personal belongings, and his detention were illegal. The lawyers met with Mr. Chen in the detention centre and learned that he denies any fabrications made against him by the police.

Mr. Chen's family members go to the police department every day and request his immediate release. They hope that these police officers cease following the CCP and stop persecuting Falun Gong practitioners.

Parties involved:
Cao Yang (曹阳), director, Shenjingzi Police Station in Dongling District, Shenyang City: +86-24-24730482, +86-15940158686 (Mobile)
Shao Zhiyu (邵志玉), deputy director, Shenjingzi Police Station, Dongling District, Shenyang City: +86-15998101110 (Mobile)
Yin Jian (银建), vice captain, Domestic Security Division of the Dongling District Police Department in Shenyang City: +86-13840177999 (Mobile)