Engineer Gao Dong Tortured to the Point of Mental Breakdown in Benxi Forced Labour Camp

Liaohe Oil Field Prospect Bureau Zhenxing Company Inspection and Management Engineer Gao Dong, a Liaohe Oil Field University graduate was abducted and persecuted because he persisted in cultivating Falun Gong. In October 2003 he was tortured until he was almost insane by Liaoning Province's Panjin Forced Labour Camp. Later he was transferred to Benxi Forced Labour Camp and persecuted until he finally became mentally disordered. Some people responsible for his torture later started rumours that "Gao Dong became deviated after practising Falun Gong."

Gao Dong was taken to the oil field detention centre in the days leading up to the Chinese New Year 2003. Reacting to the illegal detention, Gao Dong went on a hunger strike in protest. He suffered continued brutal forced feeding. He choked a few times from getting something into his lungs. The police there violated the law, encouraging a prisoner to beat Gao Dong brutally, until he was black and blue all over and he lost consciousness.

The police were afraid of taking the responsibility for their illegal actions so they took him to his workplace and left him outside the office building. Some caring people from his work took him to the Oil Field Centre hospital, saving his life.

On the morning of March 4, 2003, Gao Dong went to the company to report to his boss, and never returned. The political and security sections of Liaohe Oil Field Police Department together with the security section at Zhenxing Company seized Gao Dong and took him to Panjin City Forced Labour Camp. In October 2003, Gao Dong was tortured nearly to death at the Panjin Forced Labour Camp.

Afterwards, Gao Dong was transferred to Benxi Forced Labour Camp. There he was detained and persecuted. Because he persisted and didn't give up his belief, he was subjected to brainwashing sessions by the police and the collaborators (1). They would not let him sleep for days until finally he could not eat and lost control of his bowels and bladder. Guards force-fed him and made him vomit. Gao Dong suffered this kind of torture continuously for one month. In the end, he became mentally disordered and the doctor diagnosed him with schizophrenia.

Benxi Forced Labour Camp authorities feared taking responsibility and sent Gao Dong home, even using this incident to pretend that practicing Falun Gong had made him become mentally ill. Just like this, a fine graduate from Panjin City's Liaohe Oil field University, an engineer, was "educated" by the so-called "Forced Labour Educational Institute" and lost his rational mind.

Applying both mental and physical torture together is a common tactic Benxi Forced Labour Camp uses to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. They try to brainwash the Falun Gong practitioners day and night, not allowing them to sleep, making them very depressed. For physical torture mainly they used detaining in the small cell, detaining in the stretch room, and various other methods. The small cells are ghastly places, lonely and depressing. Normally practitioners are detained there for ten days. The stretch room is used to tightly tie the practitioners' two wrists and ankles to the metal torture instrument, laying the person flat on the ground, unable to move, urinate, defecate, or eat, depending totally on the prison guard to "take care of them." The stretching would usually last for seven days.

A similar situation happened to the vice Chairperson of Benxi City Library, Wang Jingsheng, an assistant manager, who was mentally very normal, and was very well spoken before he was abducted and "re-educated." After one year of mental persecution in Benxi Forced Labour Camp, he became mentally depressed, and sad, his eyes were in a daze. He rarely spoke.

Liaoning Province Benxi City Forced Labour Camp address: Benxi City
Mingshan District Weining Camp
Zip code: 117008

Names of Liaohe Oil Field Prospect Bureau Zhenxing Company personnel who were directly involved in persecution:

Sun Renqiang, Secretary, 86-427-7828938 (office), 86-427-7827935 (home)
Liu Guangfu, Labour Union Chairperson, 86-427-7822835 (office), 86-427-7822291 (home)
Sui Jinghui, Safety security section director, 86-427-7821304 (office), 86-427-7822804 (home)
Zhang Degang, Safety security section deputy director, 86-427-7831942 (office), 86-427-7807649 (home)
Li Hua, Supervisory and Management Company Manager, 86-427-7820926 (office), 86-427-7821280 (home)
Liaohe Oil Field Police Department Political and Security section head Wang Youshan, 86-427-7821140, Kuang Yemao-7821438

Note:

1. Collaborators: former Falun Gong practitioners who have gone astray due to brainwashing and torture

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/6/26/77997.html