Institutionalized Corruption in Hebei Province: Bazhou City Policemen Accumulate Illicit Money in the Persecution Against Falun Gong

Since July 20, 1999, Liu Dongfang, the section chief and Wang Xiaoqiang, the vice section chief of Political and Security Section of Public Security Bureau in Bazhou City, Hebei Province have headed up the policemen, and associated with the local police stations and relevant departments in various counties and towns to arrest, beat, confiscate properties, detain, and sentence practitioners throughout the whole city. They use criminal methods of creating illegal fines, seizing property, deceiving,blackmailing practitioners and their families, extorting money from practitioners and their families and so on to trap practitioners.

The Public Security Bureau of Bazhou City instructs the local police stations of Nanmeng Town and Kangxian Village to kidnap Falun Gong practitioners one after another. After the cruel torture tactics, they illegally fined practitioners and wouldn't release people without receiving some money. For example, in Nanmeng Town Falun Gong practitioner Wu Hongchuan was fined 5,000 Yuan [the average urban worker's monthly wage is 500 Yuan], and then fined another 4,000 Yuan by the Political and Security Section. He was still not released, and illegally transferred to the brainwashing centre. He was only released after he had paid the fine for half a year. In 2003, he was again abducted twice (where he is illegally detained is unknown). Also, there is a family in Nanmeng Town surnamed Wang. The mother and two daughters are Falun Gong practitioners; they were kidnapped and sent to the municipal Political and Security Section. After they had been detained and tortured for a month, they were fined more than 10,000 Yuan. Later, Wang was kidnapped again and fined another 4,000 Yuan. These corrupt methods happen often.

The lawless personnel of the Political and Security Section in the Public Security Bureau also extort money. For example, after four Falun Gong practitioners in the Nanmeng Town including Gu Juyan and Li Jinshuang were illegally detained for more than a month, their family members were notified to bring 4,000 Yuan to the detention centre and take them home. After the money had been paid, the policemen not only refused to release them or return the money, but also sent them to the municipal brainwashing class for further torture. Because Dafa practitioner Gao had no family members at home, her workplace leader paid her 300 Yuan, and asked Political and Security Section chief Liu Dongfang to give up Gao who was detained in the detention centre. The money was actually kept by Liu for himself. The policemen in the municipal detention centre also often pocket Dafa practitioners' money. Because practitioner surnamed Li and Gao did not have enough food (a corn flour steamed bread with one and a half eggs for each meal), some Dafa practitioners supported them with 400 Yuan for living expenses, but it was all pocketed by the police in the detention centre. There are numerous examples like this, the largest amount extorted was up to ten thousand Yuan.

They use the opportunity of persecuting Dafa practitioners to search their bodies and seize their personal savings and property. After practitioners have been kidnapped and taken to the municipal Political and Security Section, besides the brutal torture from the police, practitioners were also searched by police Liu Dongfang and Wang Xiaoqiang etc. They took away all money from practitioners, no matter what their age or gender was. Falun Gong practitioner Gao Zengqiang was searched by the police and they seized more than 1,000 Yuan from him.. Prior to this, police Wang Xiaoqiang has been to Gao Zengqiang's home. There was nobody there, Wang Xiaoqiang and other police broke in through the door, and seized a bicycle and a computer VCD player.

Under the instigation of police Liu Dongfang and Wang Xiaoqiang, the municipal Political and Security Section uses the opportunity of persecuting Falun Gong practitioners to rob them of their personal assets and split the illicit money among themselves. Once the police received a fine of 5,000 Yuan from a Falun Gong practitioner surnamed Chen of Chengguan Town and others, they straight away split up the money in the Political and Security Section office. After they split up the money, one of the police argued, just like a common thief,:"How come you have so much money, but only give me so little?" One of the leaders replied:"You only have that much! How many days have been here! If you want it, just take it, otherwise you have nothing. Don't you know the Party has no say in this matter..." They nearly started a brawl over an uneven share of the illicit money. This is what Falun Gong practitioners witnessed.

According to incomplete figures, the corrupt personnel of the Political and Security Section of Public Security Bureau in Bazhou City have used all means to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. In Nanmeng and Kangxian Village, they have illegally seized more than 130,000 Yuan from some of the practitioners.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2003/9/24/57881.html