75-Year-Old Mr. Liu Tianhou Dies in a Sichuan Province Forced Labour Camp

Mr. Liu Tianhou, 75, died on October 27th in Wumaping Forced Labour Camp. He had lived in Huili County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Region, Sichuan Province. Mr. Liu was a veteran soldier and a kind and helpful person. He was injured while serving in the military. A bullet hit the calf of one of his legs, leaving a big dent. In his old age before he began practising Falun Gong, he developed cerebral atrophy, myocarditis, high blood pressure, and many other ailments. When his illnesses flared up, the pain was so intense that he would hit his head against the wall to relieve it, which would hurt his head terribly, and it was very tragic to watch. After he started practising Falun Gong, the indentation in his leg filled in and all of his illnesses gradually disappeared. His son no longer needed to take care of him. He was even able to take care of his wife, who was semi-paralysed, by washing her clothes, bathing her, and taking her for a walk in a wheelchair.

On August 1st, 2005, when Mr. Liu was on his way to Panzhihua City in Sichuan Province to distribute leaflets exposing the persecution of Falun Gong, he was reported to the authorities, and police officers from Yanbian County arrested and detained him. On August 3rd, 2005, police from the Domestic Security Division of Huili County took him back and put him in the detention centre. Mr. Liu began a hunger strike in protest, and by the fourth day he was in critical condition. He was released on August 12th, 2005.

A group of Domestic Security agents from Huili County, including Yang Shaoliang, ransacked Mr. Liu's home on April 15th, 2006. He was arrested and detained for more than three months. He was publicly tried him on the morning of July 28th, 2006, in the Huili County Court. When court officials asked Liu Tianhou why he was distributing leaflets exposing the persecution he said, "I did what I did because I read the truth about the harvesting of organs from living practitioners in Sujiatun Concentration Camp, and it's really inhuman. I spoke out for justice for Falun Gong so that the evildoers would stop persecuting good people." The trial ended hastily and Mr. Liu was carried away without the court announcing a verdict. He was first sentenced to six years in prison, but the verdict was later secretly changed to three years of forced labour.

Mr. Liu was arrested and detained ten times for his belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. After he was detained, Mr. Liu's wife lost her caregiver and died on February 16th, 2008, broken-hearted. Mr. Liu died on October 27th, 2008, in Wumaping Forced Labour Camp located in Leshan City, Sichuan Province.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.cc/mh/articles/2008/10/31/188921.html