Mr. Zeng Zhaoqin Developed a Mental Disorder After Being Arrested Four Times and Tortured

Name: Zeng Zhaoqin
Gender: Male
Age: 56
Address: Unknown
Occupation: Shop owner
Date of Most Recent Arrest: November 5th, 2004
Most recent place of detention: Changsha Xinkaipu Forced Labour Camp
City: Leiyang
Province: Hunan
Persecution Suffered: Forced labour, sleep deprivation, beatings, imprisonment, torture, extortion, home ransacked, interrogation, detention

Mr. Zeng Zhaoqin began to practise Falun Gong in 1998. All of his health problems disappeared, including bronchitis and stomach problems, and he became a healthy person again.

On April 1st, 2001, Mr. Zeng was arrested in his own shop for talking to people about Falun Gong by officers from the political security office of the Leiyang City Public Security Department. The officers took him to the public security department and interrogated him for several hours before sending him to the Leiyang City Detention Centre. There, he was forced to do hard labour and was frequently beaten by the head inmate. In order to keep Mr. Zeng from being severely beaten, his family gave several hundred yuan¹ to the head inmate each month. Mr. Zeng was released after being detained for 68 days and having 6,000 yuan extorted from his family.

On September 28th, 2001, Mr. Zeng was arrested for practising the Falun Gong exercises in Zhangfei Square in Leiyang City. Plainclothes officers took him to the public security department, where they interrogated him until midnight. Then he was taken to the detention centre. Mr. Zeng was released after being detained for 75 days and having 3,000 yuan extorted from his family.

At approximately 5:00 a.m. on June 5th, 2003, the Leiyang City public security officers broke into Mr. Zeng's home and took him by force to the public security department. Several hours later, he was transferred to an undisclosed hotel, where he was interrogated non-stop. The officers were trying to find out the source of Falun Gong materials. Three days later, he was taken to the detention centre. After being detained for four months, Mr. Zeng was taken to the Xinkaipu Forced Labour Camp to serve a one-year term.

On November 5th, 2004, Mr. Zeng was once again arrested for distributing Falun Gong materials. He was arrested by officers from the Longtang Town Police Station and taken to the State Security Division of the Leiyang City Public Security Department. Later that day, he was transferred to the detention centre. After being detained for 28 days, Mr. Zeng was sentenced to one year of forced labour in the Xinkaipu Forced Labour Camp, where he was beaten, forced to stand for long periods of time, and denied use of a toilet. Mr. Zeng was tortured until he developed a mental disorder and was unable to care for himself.

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://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2009/10/3/209567.html