Police Detain Innocent People, Let Real Criminals Go Free

Name: Han Xinlin
Gender: Female
Age: unknown
Address: Qinghuangdao, Hehei
Date of Most Recent Arrest: June 25th, 2010
Most Recent Place of Detention: Kaiping Forced Labour Camp
City: Tangshan
Province: Hebei
Persecution Suffered: Electric shock, sleep deprivation, forced labour, brainwashing, beatings, solitary confinement, torture, physical restraint, home ransacked, detention, denial of toilet use

When Ms. Han Xinlin was attacked by a thug in June 2010, the police officer arrested Ms. Han and took her to the Qinghuangdao Second Detention Centre! The officer let the criminal go free instead of protecting the victim. After 13 days of detention, Ms. Han was transferred to Kaiping Forced Labour Camp in Tangshan. The following is Ms. Han's account.

Police Officer Releases the Thug, Detains an Innocent Person

At around 2 a.m. on June 25th, 2010, I was on my way to the early shift at work. While walking under the Jiaoyunli Bridge in Qinghuangdao, a man suddenly jumped out and pinned me with his arms. I used all my strength to get away from him. I then warned him not to do bad deeds because he would receive retribution. I also told him the facts about Falun Gong. He did not believe what I said, and even claimed that if he reported me for being a Falun Gong practitioner he would be paid several hundred yuan¹.

He came towards me again, but I evaded his grasp. He then called the police. When the police officer arrived, he didn't give me a chance to say anything. The thug told the officer that he was related to some high-ranking army veteran in the communist party. The officer seemed to take him at his word and afraid of the power of any the high-ranking Chinese Communist Party (CCP) cadre, let the assailant go. However, the officer took me to the Jianshe Street Police Station.

I was taken to a room and watched by a guard. At 8 a.m., officers from the Domestic Security Division arrived and interrogated me. They ordered me to sign a detention warrant, took my picture, and fingerprinted me. I refused to cooperate with their requests. The police officers then treated me roughly. One officer pulled me by my hair, hit my head, and slapped my face. Two other officers forcibly took my picture and fingerprints.

Persecution in Kaiping Forced Labour Camp in Tangshan

I was arrested and taken to Kaiping Forced Labour Camp in Tangshan on July 9th, 2010 for a one year term. I was forced to wear the prison uniform. The first day there, more than 10 people, led by Wang Wenping, tied me to a chair and cut my hair. Reading Falun Gong books, doing Falun Gong exercises, and talking about Falun Gong were all prohibited. If I needed to go downstairs to purchase goods in a store or use the toilet, I had to report to them first. Prisoners were assigned to follow and monitor me around the clock.

On the morning of January 12th, 2011 while another practitioner and I were meditating, policewoman Liu Liying entered the room and punched both of us. Liu grabbed a slip from the floor to throw on the other practitioner. Just then, police officers Jia Fengmei, Yan Hongli, Yang Haifeng and others, including inmate Zhang Fengxia, also arrived. They jumped at us, dragged and pushed us to the outside. Zhang Fengxia grabbed my hair and pulled me into the hallway. When a practitioner saw the scene she tried to stop the officer. The officer hit the practitioner, giving her a bloody nose.

When another practitioner also tried to stop the brutality, Zhang Fengxia forcefully punched the practitioner's chest. They pushed me to the ground, then dragged me to the toilet in an office. They cornered me against the wall. Liu Jie gave Yan Hongli an electric baton, which she used to shock my left hand until it was bleeding and bruised. Li Dayou instructed Yan on how to use the baton so as to not shock herself. They then hung me from a heating pipe on the ceiling. It was during the freezing winter. I had bare feet, and wore light clothing. Li Dayou said, “Do you know this is a forced labour camp, no Falun Gong exercises are allowed here.” Liu Liying, Jia Fengmei, and Yan Hongli took turns swearing at me. They called me shameless and dirty names.

At around 4 p.m., they took me to a different office. I was cuffed to a wooden chair. I could not move. My nose was running and I was shivering all over. A prisoner saw my situation and put a blanket on me. I had not eaten a real meal since the day I was arrested. Wang Wenping and several others dragged me to the camp clinic in the morning. When I entered I saw seven people waiting there, ready to force-feed me.

They forced me onto the bed. Wang Wenping asked me if I was going to eat and continue to do Falun Gong exercises. I said I would keep doing the exercises. She immediately slapped my face. She asked me again whether I was going to eat. I said to her I drank some water in the morning and ate two crackers, are those not counted as eating? Did I need her to tell me how much I should eat? Wang Wenping did not say a word. I was taken back to the office where I was before. When it was night, I was locked in a cold and damp room. The window was covered in a heavy layer of frost. I was handcuffed to a chair and unable to move. Yan Hongli ordered others to not give me any blankets or clothing. They wanted me to freeze. Yang Haifeng once said that no one could be steadfast under such torture. Seven-day solitary confinement was approved by the head of the labour camp. If a practitioner did not yield after seven days, the torture would be extended for another seven days. Seven days passed, both my face and hands were purple and blue from the cold and lack of circulation. My body shivered all over. During those seven days, I was not allowed to use the toilet but had to urinate in the room, there was no way to wash or brush my teeth.

On March 8th, they summoned several practitioners to come outside of their cell. If a practitioner resisted, they would be beaten. When I stepped out of the cell, Yan Hongli, Yang Haifeng, and Wang Wenping pushed me into a cold and damp room. A prisoner was already there waiting for me. They forced me back to the edge of the bed. Wang Wenping said, “Did you sing a Falun Gong song yesterday? Will you sing again?” I said, “Yes.” Wang slapped my face, then asked me if I would make hand gestures again, “Yes,” I said. Wang slapped me, then asked me again whether I would sing and make hand gestures in the future. I said I would do what a Falun Gong practitioner must do. Wang slapped me again. As Wang began to slap me one more time, I used my arm to block her hand. They immediately pushed me to a chair and handcuffed me. I cried “Falun Gong is great.” Wang Wenping held my mouth and tore at my lips, while fiercely shouting, “I let you shout, let you shout.” They then used a bandage to seal my mouth. I was frozen for another seven days in such a way, and not allowed to sleep.

While I was in the forced labour camp, my husband and father-in-law went to Jianshe Street Police Station to ask why I had been arrested, and why the mugger had been let go. The head of the police station, Jiang Zhuo, yelled at them and accused them of interfering in police affairs, and even threatened to arrest them. Jiang also said, “Her words cannot be used as evidence. If you want to accuse the police of taking no action, we don't care.” After that, they forced my family to move, did not allow our child to enrol in school, and stopped my husband's salary for several months. All of which brought huge mental and physical pressure to my family.

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/2011/10/29/248427.html