Tragic Events Unfold after Brutal Prison Beating

In a tragic sequence of events, prison guard Lin Danrui (林丹瑞) brutally beat Falun Gong practitioner Han Haiming (韩海明) at Jinzhong Prison in Shanxi Province on April 4th, 2014. Mr. Han died from his injuries four days later. In a case of retribution, guard Lin's daughter was recently killed in a car accident.

Mr. Han Haiming had been arrested at his rented residence in Qicheng Village, Qi County on April 7th, 2011. He was subsequently sentenced to a three-and-a-half-year prison term, and taken to Jinzhong Prison on April 10th, 2012.

Prison guard Lin Danrui ordered criminal inmate Lin Huaixing to monitor Mr. Han, and not allow him to speak with anyone.

Lin viciously beat Mr. Han on the evening of April 4th, accusing him of talking to someone. He beat him for over an hour, causing severe head injuries. Mr. Han suffered a brain haemorrhage and became partially paralysed. He was taken to Shanxi Medical University hospital in critical condition.

Mr. Han's family was not allowed to see him until later in the evening. At 2:00 p.m. the next day, when his condition had stabilised somewhat, the prison guards forbade his family from remaining with him in the emergency room. The guards even handcuffed and shackled the feet of the unconscious Mr. Han at night.

A doctor issued a notice of critical condition and told Mr. Han’s family that he was likely to be disabled even if he survived an operation. Mr. Han's wife didn't want to take the risk, and requested that the family be allowed to take him home for recovery. However, a prison guard immediately responded, “Absolutely not. As long as he still has his last breath, he will not go home.” The authorities also declined to process the family's request for medical parole.

Mr. Han never regained full consciousness in the hospital. He couldn’t speak, and often moaned in pain. His left hand often trembled uncontrollably, and made grabbing motions. There was missing scalp on the left side of his head and traces of blood, as well as bruises on other parts of his head. He could not move his right hand or foot at all.

The authorities forced Mr. Han’s family to agree to surgery on April 7th. His condition initially seemed to improve shortly after the surgery, but deteriorated rapidly afterward. Doctors used a defibrillator several times in an effort to keep him alive. Mr. Han had become paralysed and had no feeling from his neck down. He was placed on a ventilator.

Mr. Han passed away early on the morning of April 8th. His body was cremated immediately and his family took his ashes to his hometown that day.

Jinzhong Prison issued a gag order over the incident of Mr. Han's death, threatening any potential whistleblowers with punitive action.

Retribution

A few months after Mr. Han's death, the daughter of prison guard Lin Danrui, the main perpetrator in this incident, was killed in a car accident.

Falun Gong is a practice of the Buddha School. A core belief in traditional Chinese culture is that those who persecute genuine cultivators or religious believers are committing huge crimes, even worse than regular crimes.

Despite the Chinese Communist Party's attempt to destroy traditional belief, Chinese people still have a sense that those who commit bad deeds will meet with consequences in the form of retribution, not only to themselves, but possibly also to their families.

Tragically, prison guard Lin Danrui's crimes also affected his daughter. While many follow the Chinese Communist Party's directives and ignore traditional belief, too many perpetrators of wrongful activity have found that the scope of retribution is beyond the Chinese Communist Party's control.