Senior Citizen Mr. Liu Tingheng Dies as a Result of Persecution in Benxi Forced Labour Camp

After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to persecute Falun Gong in 1999, Mr. Liu Tingheng was arrested four times. Due to long term persecution, his health suffered severely and he passed away in the spring of 2008. A chief perpetrator responsible for Mr. Liu's death was Liu Shaoshi in Benxi Forced Labour Camp, Liaoning Province.

In September 2001, Mr. Liu was sent to Weining Forced Labour Camp. While he was kept in solitary confinement, guard Gao used handcuffs to restrain his arms behind him. The handcuffs were so tight that they cut into his flesh. The next day, his hands and wrists were swollen. He was kept in handcuffs 24 hours a day for more than 20 days. The place was infested with insects and he was covered with mosquito bites. He lost control of his bladder and bowels, but he refused to co-operate. Political Commissar Chen Zhongwei ordered that his term be extended by six months. After he was taken from the solitary cell, he was sent to Team Six and forced to sit on a bench for several hours every day. The team leader was Liu Jiangpeng. The guards on the team often told criminal inmates to assault Falun Gong practitioners. Practitioners were made to sit on a bench for 13 hours a day without speaking or making any movement. They had to apply for a permit to use the toilet. Most of the time, only group trips to the toilet were allowed. Practitioners were also handcuffed behind their backs or over the tops of their heads and then hung up. Other torture methods included confinement in a solitary cell and a stretching torture (as a person lies either face up or down, his arms and legs are tightly pulled and secured and he remains there for a whole day. After such torture, his arms and legs are badly swollen. Afterwards many cannot raise their arms and some walk with a limp. Some practitioners become permanently disabled after this torture). Liu Tingheng was subjected to this stretching torture.

After several years of persecution in the labour camp, Mr. Liu Tingheng returned home. However, his ordeal was not over, for the police continued to harass him. In 2007, he was arrested for the fourth time.

On April 12th, 2007 at 11:00 a.m., Benxi City police arrested Mr. Liu and his wife and several other practitioners. Later, they also arrested Fu Xiaodong, Mr. Liu's son-in-law. Within several months, the Benxi police had arrested more than 40 practitioners.

Before long, Mr. Liu was sent to the Legal Centre of Benxi Forced Labour Camp, which is a facility designed to treat drug addicts. His son-in-law, Fu Xiaodong, was detained in a direct supervision team at the camp and beaten till he passed out. In May 2007, Mr. Liu's daughter and her 8-year-old son came to visit her husband and father. They were denied the visit. Meng Lingxin, a policeman in the management section told them, "No, you are not allowed to see them. Sue me if you want!"

Legal centre head Liu Shaoshi was the former head of the labour camp's medical clinic before he was transferred. He was good at putting on a nice outward facade to fool people, including practitioners and their families. He was a very "experienced" perpetrator thanks to his years of involvement with the persecution. He was good at sweet talking while plotting harsh tortures. If one was not careful, one could easily be led into his trap. He was actively involved in brainwashing people under the banner of "educating, influencing and rescuing."

In the drug rehab centre (legal centre), practitioners were closely followed by more than one person. These persons were usually those that had betrayed Falun Gong. They used all sorts of methods, both harsh and soft approaches, to undermine practitioners' resolve. During the night, guards came to harass practitioners, reading out loud articles that slandered Falun Gong. The guards also forced practitioners to watch TV and videos filled with lies about Falun Gong. They did not hesitate to use violence on anyone that did not agree with their propaganda. In the past ten years, Benxi Forced Labour Camp held more than 20 brainwashing sessions and persecuted more than 1000 practitioners. It also detained about 400 practitioners for long term forced labour. Many practitioners were subjected to the stretching torture.

After Mr. Liu was sent to the drug rehab centre, guard Liu Shaoshi and others attempted to force him to denounce Falun Gong. The guards and others that went along with them constantly harassed him, forced him to watch videos and other writings, and used pressure and incentives. The guards told him if he refused, he would be sent to a solitary cell and put on a stretching board; if he complied, his labour camp term would be drastically reduced. The long term torture and mental stress took a toll on Mr. Liu, and he was losing a lot of weight and experiencing the symptoms of a painful hernia. His request for an earlier discharge for treatment was denied, because Liu Shaoshi had told him to report to the labour camp immediately after his surgery or he would be treated as a fugitive. Mr. Liu did not agree to this condition. He was forced to remain at the camp and suffered from deteriorating health. Finally, a labour camp doctor told him to stay in bed and minimise his food and water intake. Following the doctor's advice, he stayed in bed for days. But Liu Shaoshi harassed him every day, saying, "Stop faking your illness, your illness is not a big deal." He also forced Mr. Liu to get out of bed. Finally, Liu Tingheng had no choice but to get out of bed.

During his nine-month detention, Mr. Liu was denied visits with his family. After one month of being bedridden, his condition worsened further, his abdomen showed symptoms of oedema, and he suffered ascites below the chest. Fearing he might die in the camp, Liu Shaoshi finally approved a medical parole and sent him home on May 5th. After 34 days at home, Mr. Liu Tingheng passed away on June 9th, 2008, in the early morning. The hospital diagnosis said he had cirrhosis of the liver and late stage ascites.

Related article: http://clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2008/8/2/99458.html

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2010/1/6/215749.html