His Mother Sentenced to Prison, Ms. Deng Linfeng's Son Dies after Being Threatened by the Police

Ms. Deng Linfeng, 42, lives in the Anqing Community District of Jiamusi City. At about 3:00 p.m. on February 26th, she and her 17-year-old son went through the security check before entering the train station. The security staff found informational materials exposing the persecution of Falun Gong that she was carrying and reported her to the police. The police from the Jiamusi Railroad Police Department arrested her and forced her son, who was terrified, to lead the police to their home. The police then started occupying the home. They threatened Ms. Deng and demanded information about other Falun Gong practitioners. When she refused to cooperate, the police took her to the Jiamusi Railroad Detention Centre.

The next day, the police went back to Ms. Deng's home and took her son's computer. A few days later, they summoned him to the police department and forced him to reveal information about other practitioners that his mother knew. After the trauma of seeing his mother arrested, having their house occupied and computer stolen, and being repeatedly threatened by the police, the boy became seriously ill.

Jiamusi City Hospital personnel examined him, but they were unable to help and immediately transferred him to the Beijing Army Hospital. After an expert consultation, he was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. The recommended medical treatment was very expensive, and within two weeks the family had already spent more than 70,000 yuan¹, but the boy's condition still did not improve. The family's financial situation is quite tight, and all the money for the preliminary treatment was borrowed from relatives and friends. The family could not afford further medical treatment and had to take the boy home.

His father needed to go out to work to support the family, and the boy needed his mother to take care of him. The father went to the police department and pleaded with the police to release Ms. Deng so that she could take care of their son. The police not only refused to release her, they also notified the Procuratorate to sentence her.

On June 18th, the Jiamusi City Railroad Court tried Ms. Deng. Her family hired Zhang Jianguo from Beijing as their lawyer, because he dared to defend innocent Falun Gong practitioners. Although the prosecutor and judge interrupted his defence many times with insults, Mr. Zhang managed to establish that the defendant had a right to be defended, and he especially pointed out that her son, who had just turned 17, had a severe illness as a result of the police threatening him, restricting his freedom, and intruding into their home. Everyone could see that Ms. Deng Linfeng was deeply shaken by the fact that her son was seriously ill.

The court didn't dare release Ms. Deng after the trial. Instead they sentenced her to two years in prison. On July 20th, 2008, a second trial was secretly held, and the sentencing from the first open trial was upheld. Ms. Deng Linfeng was taken to the Harbin City Women's Prison. Her son heard about her sentencing, and his condition worsened. Her husband had to sell their house to take their son to Beijing to see the doctors. Even after spending several thousand yuan, he still couldn't prevent their son from dying on their way home on August 20th, 2008.

Their son died with his mouth open, as if he still had many grievances to tell. Ms. Deng's husband not only has to face the cruel fact of his son's death, but he is also hundreds of thousands of yuan in debt.

Wang Jinheng (male), director of Jiamusi City Railroad Court: 86-13904544218 (Mobile), 86-454-8922018 (Office), 86-454-8305818 (Home)
Cao Zhenting (male), deputy director of Jiamusi City Railroad Court (in charge of Criminal Court): 86-13904544228 (Mobile), 86-454-8922028 (Office), 86-454-8922098 (Home)
Zhang Shujun (female), criminal court judge of Jiamusi City Railroad Court: 86-15904549208(Mobile) 86-454-8922048 (Office)
Zhang Xiaodong (male), criminal court deputy judge of Jiamusi City Railroad Court: 86-13836667988 (Mobile), 86-454-8924198 (Office)

Note

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

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/9/5/185348.html