Officials from the Laishui Police Station Steal a Family's Life Savings and Then Abduct and Beat their Victims

On October 7th, 2009, officials in Laishui County, Hebei Province, broke into Mr. Li Dezhi's home and took his bank deposit certificates worth seventy thousand yuan¹ as well as cash. When Mr. Li's wife tried to stop them, she was badly beaten.

Outright Burglary

On the evening of October 7th, more than ten officials, one of them a woman, from Laishui County 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong), Yongyang Town government, and the Yongyang Police Station, led by Yan Shugang, who is the village Party branch secretary, and Bai Xibin, head of the Dongleizi Village, broke into Mr. Li Dezhi's home to arrest practitioners and steal their money.

Police officer Xu Hongwei gave orders to break into the cabinets. One policeman used a big screwdriver to pry open a cabinet and took three bank certificates. One certificate was for twenty thousand yuan, another was for twenty thousand yuan, and the third was for two thousand yuan. The accounts, totalling 42,060 yuan, were with the Yongyang Credit Association with Mr. Li Dezhi as the account holder. In addition, the police also took 26,500 yuan in cash. They thoroughly ransacked Mr. Li's house, leaving clothing strewn about everywhere.

Beaten for Resisting

Seeing their money being stolen, Mr. Li's wife, Liu Qingmei, tried to stop them, saying, "The money is to be used to build our house. You cannot take it away!" In response, the police and officials severely beat her and detained her at the Yongyang Town Government.

They detained Ms. Liu with the practitioners arrested from other villages that evening. The woman official watched them, didn't let them use the toilet, and gave them a wooden pail to urinate in. She kept on cursing Falun Gong and didn't give them anything to eat.

That evening, police officers and local officials used a special whip made out of steel and electrical wire to beat Mr. Yin Zemin and two other practitioners. As they beat them, they kept on cursing Falun Gong, and even tried to force the practitioners to curse as well. The following day, Ms. Liu Qinghong and several other practitioners were transferred to the county brainwashing centre.

Mr. Li's wife and daughter asked village leaders many times for their money to be returned. One of the village leaders told them that the police station demanded that the family prove the money belonged to them, and that if they couldn't prove it, the money was illegal and would not be returned.

Mr. Li Dezhi had to ask his two daughters, a neighbour, and a village leader for help to prove that the money belonged to him. Even though they did this, the police station still didn't return their money. Mr. Li's family then went to the county police department. The deputy head said that the police were wrong to take their money and promised to contact them after further investigation. However, the family hasn't heard anything further. Although they've asked the authorities many times for their money, they couldn't find Li Zhensheng and Wang who participated in arresting Mr. Li.

The Head of the Yongyang Town Party Committee Is a Thug

Li Zhensheng, secretary of the Yongyang Town Party Committee, is in his 40s. His father was the former head of the Laishui County Court. Li Zhensheng worked in the County Justice Bureau before, was later promoted to the head of Zhaogezhuang Town, and later became the head of the Yongyang Town Party Committee. Li Zhensheng has persecuted Falun Gong practitioners since 1999. When he was the head of Zhaogezhuang Town, he arrested and beat many of them, including Mr. Cao Jiwei. Now in Yongyang Town, he continues to persecute practitioners.

On the evening of October 7th, 2009, Li Zhensheng beat the practitioners personally. Li Zhensheng has acted more like a thug than a civic official. He is openly corrupt and demands bribes. He has taken a lot from the locals and also steals money from the practitioners.

ID Cards Stolen, the Stolen Bank Certificates Not Able to Be Redeemed

On the evening of October 7th, 2009, all the identity cards for Mr. Li Dezhi's family as well as their residence booklet were also taken away. In order to prevent local officials and the police department from withdrawing the money from their bank accounts, Mr. Li's family went to the credit association to report the theft of their bank certificates. The official there told them that they had have their identity cards and residence booklet in order to report the loss. The family told them that their identity cards and residence booklet had also been stolen. The bank official said that they couldn't report the loss if they didn't have those documents.

Mr. Li Dezhi is currently still living in a dark and ransacked house. His over seventy thousand yuan that had been saved over many years should have been used to build a new house. However, the police stole everything. His whole family is living in a state of anxiety. The police have let it be known that they are monitoring Mr. Li Dezhi, and that if the family again asks for the money, they will immediately arrest Mr. Li and take him away.

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/2009/11/18/212855.html