Mr. Pang Guangwen has been persistently vomiting after consuming food for the past ten months, soon after he was sent to Tilanqiao Prison for practising Falun Gong.
When questioned by his wife as to his condition, the prison authorities replied with diagnoses ranging from gastritis to neuropathic anorexia, but have refused to provide her with his medical records.
Given that neither of the conditions described by the prison authorities are likely to cause persistent vomiting for nearly a year, Mr. Pang's wife became suspicious, especially since several other Falun Gong practitioners have perished at the same prison.
Mr. Pang's business associate, Mr. Zhao Bin, died just 46 days after being sent to the same prison. Practitioners Ma Xinxing and Zhang Zhiyun were given food laced with poison and exhibited similar symptoms of constant vomiting before their deaths.
Mr. Pang in Precarious Condition
Mr. Pang, the general manager of a Shanghai logistics company, was tried by Changning District Court in Shanghai on July 11th, 2013 and sentenced to five years in prison. Due to his weak physical condition, Mr. Pang was transferred in February 2014 to the No. 6 Ward in Nanhui Prison with elderly, sick and handicapped prisoners.
During each family visit, at least four guards sat next to him to monitor their conversation. On April 25th, 2014, Mr. Pang's brother and sister came from Shandong Province to see him. They observed that he had dark circles under his eyes and did not look well, but the prison division head reassured them that Mr. Pang was healthy.
When Mr Pang's family visited him again on May 28th, they learned that he had been admitted to the prison hospital on May 15th. The head guard assured them he was much better. However, his family noticed his ashen complexion and obvious frailty. They also found out that he weighed merely 119 pounds at that point, dropping 10 pounds from the last time they saw him just five weeks prior.
Wife Appeals for Husband's Release
Mrs. Pang is deeply concerned about her husband's health. Below is her letter appealing for Mr Pang's release:
Since his arrest and subsequent imprisonment, Pang Guangwen has not been able to keep food down. He has spent most of this period undergoing treatment in the prison hospital. But why has his condition not improved?
When I raised this question in 2013, Tilanqiao Prison and the prison hospital told me that he suffered from gastritis (inflammation of the lining of the stomach). I consulted medical experts and was told this would cause only occasional vomiting, not persistent regurgitation.
Subsequently, Nanhui Prison told me that my husband had neuropathic anorexia. When I questioned the prison further, a head guard said they examined his urine and blood samples but could not find anything wrong with him.
The more I think about it, the more terrified I become. Is my husband being used as a guinea pig in lab experiments? What is the prison trying to hide from me? They still can't find the cause of his condition after such a long time. So why are they still treating him? What medications are they giving him?
My husband has lost his freedom again for nearly a year now. I cannot imagine what he has gone through during this time. Sometimes, he holds back from telling us his torment for fear that we would be worried. His health is clearly deteriorating, yet the prison keeps saying his situation is improving.
The prison's attitude towards Zhao Bin's death and Pang Guangwen's unexplained vomiting gives me the feeling that they don't care about human life. To them, death is normal and simply a number in the death toll.
Furthermore, my husband is strictly monitored even during family visits, which is a sign of the heavy restrictions that he is placed under. How can anyone recover in this kind of environment!
In order to help me keep things together given my husband's situation, my mother offered to help out by looking after my daughter temporarily in her hometown.
Every time I phoned my daughter, she would ask, “Mummy, has daddy been released? When are you coming to take me home?” Once, she cried to me, “Mummy, I miss you terribly. Please take me home soon. I'm so sad and can't wait any longer.” After a while, she said, “Forget what I just said. I'll just wait for daddy to be released, and you can come visit me together with him.” On another occasion, she told me, “Mummy, I don't want you to be sad.” I answered, “I'm not sad.” She asked, “Then why is your voice so soft?” I could tell that despite her own sadness, she was sensing my own despair and trying to help. She is only five years old, and it breaks my heart to see her going through this.
I appeal to all kindhearted people with a sense of justice to help rescue the innocent Pang Guangwen, along with tens of thousands of other unjustly detained Falun Gong practitioners.
Contact information:
Nanhui Prison address: 480 Fanrong road, Zhoupu Town, Pudong new district, Shanghai 201318
Main line: 021-68189797
Prison General Hospital address: 478 Fanrong road, Zhoupu Town, Pudong new district, Shanghai 201318
Main line: 68189955
* * *
You are welcome to print and circulate all articles published on Clearharmony and their content, but please quote the source.
more ...