Mr. Song Tiemin Tortured in Suihua Forced Labour Camp, Two Teeth Knocked Out

Name: Song Tiemin
Gender: Male
Age: 41
Address: West District of Jiafan Residential Area, Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Most Recent Arrest: January 6th, 2010
Most Recent Place of Detention: Suihua Forced Labour Camp
City: Suihua
Province: Heilongjiang
Persecution Suffered: Exposure to freezing temperatures, forced labour, brainwashing, beatings, imprisonment, torture, home ransacked, detention, denial of toilet use, denied visitation
Key Persecutors: Zhang Weiming, Sha Yunlei, Wang Wei, Jin Qingfu, Shi Jian, Bi Fei, Lan Xiuqing, Wang Xiaobin, Xu Chengwei, Li Jian, Qian Shiliang, Fan Xiaodong

Mr. Song Tiemin was arrested two years ago for practising Falun Gong and served two years of forced labour in Suihua Forced Labour Camp. Two of his front teeth were knocked out when he was being tortured.

Mr. Song, 41, is a resident of the West District of Jiafan Residential Area, Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province. He used to be a heavy smoker and had autism. He also drank and had a bad temper. His family was troubled by his behaviour. In 1998, Mr. Song began to practise Falun Gong and became a completely different person. He no longer drank or smoked and often helped out his neighbours and colleagues.

Mr. Song's Colleague to the Police: “Tiemin is a good person. Why is he being treated this way?”

On the morning of January 6th, 2010, Zhang Weiming, an instructor from the Jiamusi Suburb Police Department; Sha Yunlei, the deputy director of the Yingjun Police Station; and several police officers broke into Mr. Song's home and arrested him. They ransacked the house and took him to the Heitong Detention Centre. He was detained in a room without windows and not given any winter clothes or shoes. When he refused to do forced labour, the police kicked him. Twenty-eight days later, Mr. Song was taken to Suihua Forced Labour Camp.

While transporting Mr. Song to the labour camp, they stopped at a restaurant in Yichun City, Heilongjiang Province., and happened to run into Mr. Song's colleagues. His colleagues barely recognised him. His clothes were dirty and he had a beard. His former boss asked the police, “Tiemin is a good person and the whole workplace knows this. Why is he being treated this way?” The officers lowered their heads and did not say a word.

Camp Guards and Inmates Often Beat Mr. Song, Two of His Teeth Were Knocked Out

Mr. Song was severely abused in the labour camp. Right after he was admitted, Wang Wei, a guard, tried to force him to renounce Falun Gong, putting him under a lot of pressure. The guards frequently beat and mistreated him, and when he was unable to bear it, he began to have mental problems. His abnormal behaviour resulted in more mistreatment and beatings.

Guards forced the detainees at the labour camp to say “report” each time they did anything. Because of his mental condition, Mr. Song often forgot to say “report,” so the guards often beat or verbally abused him. Guard Jin Qingfu beat and kicked him when he forgot to say “report” as he was going to clean out the rubbish in the toilet. He was forced out the toilet and had to start again.

On October 29th, 2010, as a detained practitioner was being released, he gave his phone number to Mr. Song on a piece of paper. An inmate reported this to a guard. The next day, section chief Shi Jian, called Mr. Song to the office and he and guard Bi Fei punched and kicked him. When Mr. Song's family came to visit him ten days later, they saw the bruises around his eyes. They asked him if he had been beaten, but Mr. Song dared not to answer directly. Instead he hesitantly answered by saying, “Um...” However, the camp guard monitoring the visiting room still reported this to the section chief, Shi Jian. Shi called him to the office again and kicked and punched him again. He also threatened to throw out the things his family had brought him. The practitioner who had given his phone number to Mr. Song was punished and received a five-day extension.

In November 2010, Mr. Song's family brought him some food. He shared his food with other practitioners. However, a few of the inmates started a fight in an attempt to get some of the food and argued with Mr. Song. The next day, Shi Jian called him to the office. He and guard Jing Qingfu pulled Mr. Song's hair and slammed his head against the wall. He was badly beaten.

In December 2010, after a snowstorm, the guards ordered the detainees to clear the street. Mr. Song did not have a winter coat but was forced to work outside for more than an hour. Afterward, he had a fever and his body ached for a few days. However, the camp guards still forced him to do forced labour every day.

The labour camp officials had a meeting with some of the inmates to encourage them to harass Falun Gong practitioners. One day in July 2011, Mr. Song was mopping the floor. Inmate Lan Xiuqing said that it was not clean. When Mr. Song did not answer him, Lan got angry and punched Mr. Song in the face. His two front teeth were knocked out by the roots and he bled profusely. Later, Lan received retribution when he started to urinate blood and needed help to go to the toilet.

Mr. Song was often beaten for no reason. Once, while he was mopping the hallway, guard Wang Xiaobin walked over and punched him hard a few times.

Guards limited practitioners' toilet use. Mr. Song did not dare to drink or eat very much. Once he asked to go to the toilet but was not given permission. He had to hold it until he was allowed to go.

In the labour camp, Mr. Song also witnessed the persecution of other practitioners. In June 2010, inmate Xu Chengwei punched practitioner Sheng Yanqin in the face until his nose bled. Then guard Li Jian told Xu to attack his body. In October 2010, when instructor Fan Xiaodong saw practitioner Hao Zhengdong stretching, he claimed that Mr. Hao was doing the Falun Gong exercises and knocked him down. His eyes were bruised when Fan punched him. In November 2011, guard Qian Shiliang beat practitioner Yang Dianjun.

The camp guards also ordered the inmates to sign “transformation” [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] letters for detained practitioner without them knowing it.

Family Members Have Nowhere to Appeal

Mr. Song's family suffered during the two years of his detention. Mr. Song's mother was so mentally distraught that she could not cook a big meal for two years. Her neighbours often asked her how her son was doing and when her son would be back. They thought it was unfair for her son to be detained and to be treated so harshly. One elderly lady hugged Mr. Song's mother and cried, “The child is innocent.”

Mr. Song's father was anxious all the time and unable to sleep at night. To try and rescue his son, he knelt down in front of the director of the Yingjun Police Station and kowtowed. When he went to the residential committee to request a physical check-up for his son, the director of the committee, Yao Yutai, and the director of Yingjun Police Station had already decided to refuse the old man's request. Mr. Song's father cried out loudly.

Mr. Song's brother-in-law, seeing how the family was suffering, often beat up his wife, who was also a Falun Gong practitioner, in an attempt to force her to renounce the practice.

Mr. Song's family went to the Jiamusi Suburban Police Department and Yingjun Police Station to ask for the return of Mr. Song's confiscated belongings. Both facilities denied having possession of the belongings. Only 900 yuan¹ was returned to Mr. Song's family.

Several times when Mr. Song's family went to visit him, the camp guards refused to let them see him, even though they had gone through a lot of trouble to get there. When they were allowed a visit, he always had bruises and scars on his face. When they saw that his two front teeth had been knocked out, they questioned the camp guards. The camp guard said it was an accident. His family, angered at his mistreatment, consulted lawyers and planned to file a lawsuit against the labour camp, but no lawyer had the courage to accept the case.

Conclusion

Mr. Song finally returned home after suffering two years of detention. He recovered with his family's love and care, but the shadow of the physical and mental torture he endured in the labour camp has not gone away. He has woken up in the middle of the night with scenes from the labour camp in his head. There are still thousands of Falun Gong practitioners in China suffering like Mr. Song. We hope the inhumane persecution of Falun Gong practitioners will soon come to an end.

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/2012/2/9/252869.html