Tianjin Factory Owner Mr. Li Xiwang Detained for Almost Four Months

Name: Li Xiwang
Gender: Male
Age: Unknown
Address: Nujiangli, Haimen Road, Hebei District, Tianjin
Occupation: Factory owner
Date of Most Recent Arrest: 2010
Most Recent Place of Detention: Hexi Detention Centre
City: Tianjin
Persecution Suffered: Detention, beating, imprisonment, handcuffing and shackling.

Mr. Li Xiwang from Hebei District, Tianjin is a factory owner. He and his wife Chen Liyan were arrested on December 21st, 2010, in front of their home by officers from the Dayingmen Police Station in Hexi District. The police ransacked their home and factory and confiscated their personal property. Tens of Falun Gong practitioners were arrested that day. Mr. Li Xiwang has been detained in the Hexi Detention Centre for almost four months.

Policewoman Dai went to peer into Mr. Li’s home under the guise of collecting a rental fee on December 20th, 2010. Officers from the Dayingmen Police Station stopped the couple at the doorway the next day at about 10 a.m. The police confiscated about 5,000 yuan¹ and three mobile phones the couple was carrying. The police also confiscated their van, computer and printer at the same time.

The police also ransacked Mr. Li’s factory at Menquanmen, Hebei District and confiscated mobile phones, computers, printers, Falun Gong books and materials, etc. Several cases of tape were also taken, which caused the factory to stop manufacturing and brought big financial losses to the factory.

The police confiscated about 500 yuan from Mr. Li’s son and about 1,900 yuan that Mr. Li’s mother-in-law had earned selling corn. The sudden arrest left no one to take care of Mr. Li’s young child at home. Mr. Li’s mother-in-law could not see clearly because she was terrified and worried about her daughter and son-in-law.

Mr. Li was sentenced to eight years in prison because he practises Falun Gong. He was detained in the Gangbei Prison, where he was brutally tortured. The guards handcuffed his hands to a pole and forced him to face the ground. They put very heavy shackles on his feet and tied his feet to two poles. One foot was tied at a higher position than the other. He was tortured this way for 28 days.

According to the guards, since this torture method was put in use, no one has survived after five or six days. When Mr. Li's hands and legs were untied from the poles, they did not expect him to still be alive. Mr. Li had urine and faeces on his pants, which were very malodorous. This incident shocked the Gangbei Prison; the prisoners realised the miracle of Falun Gong. Mr. Li was confined in a small room of about nine square feet alone. There is no window in the room and only a small door which is used for passing meals.

The police tracked down others based on Mr. Li Xiwang’s phone contacts. No matter whether the person was a Falun Gong practitioner or not, they just took him away. Some people were arrested just on the police’s guess and there was no evidence of anything. The police did not do any investigation and directly sent the people they arrested to brainwashing centres or forced labour camps. Some people were detained and interrogated just because they do business with Mr. Li.

Policemen attending the arrest:

Zhen Xiaoqing, Captain of the Dayingmen Police Station: 86-22-88292068
Shen Lu, Deputy Captain: 86-13602004436 (Mobile)
Zhang Yuwang: 86-22-94736512
Wang Dan: 86-13920644558
Han Xi: 86-13512972606

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/2011/3/19/237796.html