Deceased Practitioner's Family Wins Four-Year Lawsuit

May 6th, 2014, was a big day for Mr. Peng Mingsheng's family because they finally won a crucial lawsuit against the Tengzhou People's Hospital in Shandong Province. It took the family four years of constant effort to show that the hospital was liable for his death, in following the regime's pervasive policy of treating Falun Gong practitioners as targets of persecution, rather than human beings.

In early 2010, two agents from the 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) tried to arrest Mr. Peng when he was handing out pamphlets about Falun Gong and the persecution. Mr. Peng tried to escape, but his car crashed while he was being chased by the agents.

He was in critical condition, but the hospital refused to provide any treatment to save his life or to transfer him to another hospital. As a result, Mr. Peng, 47, passed away on February 7th, 2010.

Tragedy Due to Attempted Arrest

When the two 610 Office agents rushed to Mr. Peng to arrest him, some onlookers asked them about causing all the trouble: “What's wrong with him? Why do you guys want to arrest him?” At that point, Mr. Peng took the opportunity to get to his car and drive away.

Mr. Peng took a sharp turn at a high speed and his car crashed into a truck parked on the side of a road. He was unconscious and in critical condition, so the agents snuck away. A passerby called an ambulance and Mr. Peng was taken to the Tengzhou People's Hospital.

Not Treated at the Hospital Because He Was Identified as Falun Gong

A staff member at the hospital discovered that Mr. Peng was a Falun Gong practitioner, and reported it to the hospital director. Instead of taking immediate action to treat Mr. Peng's life-threatening injuries, the director instructed his staff to keep Mr. Peng in the Intensive Care Unit, but without any treatment.

The hospital staff then bound Mr. Peng's hands and feet to a bed and inserted a breathing tube into his mouth. They also notified his family about his condition.

Having not seen her brother in four years, Mr. Peng's youngest sister left Melbourne, Australia, with her three-month-old daughter on February 4th and rushed to the hospital. When she arrived, she tried to console her brother, but all Mr. Peng could do was nod in recognition.

His sister demanded why they had tied him to the bed, and the staff loosened him. Mr. Peng then asked for a pen and a piece of paper, and he wrote “Falun Gong is Good!”

Mr. Peng's sister requested a transfer to another hospital, but the director refused. His sister then replied, “You are deliberately delaying treatment that could save his life. I'll sue you.” She then took some pictures of her brother; however, the director grabbed her camera and smashed it on the floor. He became angry and yelled at her: “Go ahead. He is a Falun Gong practitioner, so go ahead—you'll never win.”

On February 7th, 2010, Mr. Peng passed away as a result of the attempted arrest and having been denied treatment at the hospital. He is survived by his parents, wife, and three kids. Within 48 hours of his death, the hospital's authorities offered a compensation of 10,000 yuan¹ and pressured his wife to sign an agreement to not pursue any legal action.

Seeking Justice

Mr. Peng's sister majored in medical science, so when she felt something amiss with her brother's death, she asked for Mr. Peng's treatment record. Due to her persistence, the hospital provided her with altered treatment records to cover up the 610 Office agents' crime and to protect its own reputation.

The altered records indicated that Mr. Peng had an accident and went through three surgeries at the hospital within a year prior to his death. In this way, the hospital claimed that it did all it could to save Mr. Peng's life.

Mr. Peng's sister photocopied the fabricated treatment records and had an accreditation agency in another city verify its validity. The agency concluded that the record was forged, and this appraisal proved crucial in helping the family win the lawsuit later.

Shortly after his death, Mr. Peng's family filed numerous complaints against the hospital, but each and every time the complaints went nowhere. Later, the family decided to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the hospital, with Mr. Peng's parents, wife, and three children as the plaintiffs.

With the help of Mr. Song, one of the top lawyers in China, the family finally won the case after four years.

Telling Others About Benefits of Falun Gong

Mr. Peng, formerly a taxi driver, used to suffer from serious migraines. However, he became healthy after he began to practise Falun Gong in 2005. He followed the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance, and he was very popular because he enjoyed helping anyone he could.

Moreover, Mr. Peng often went to other villages with fellow Falun Gong practitioners to tell people about benefits of practising Falun Gong and also about the atrocities of the persecution.

Because of Mr. Peng's activities, local 610 agents and police officers often searched his home and harassed his family. His parents were worried, and they were afraid that he might be taken to a forced labour camp. Furthermore, his wife and kids had to live in a relative's house in 2007 to avoid harassment.

Note

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