Police Cover-up Suspected in Death of Falun Gong Practitioner Ms. Wang Diansong

A Falun Gong practitioner, Ms. Wang Diansong, was killed on the evening of May 12th, 2012, near the Weihai Professional Institute in Chucun Town, High-tech Industrial Development Zone, Weihai, Shandong Province. A witness, practitioner Ms. Qi Xiuchun, was hurt, and is currently being detained. Weihai police suppressed the news and have been refusing to provide any information to the victim's family. Instead, they questioned the family on how they heard of the death and cross-examined and threatened the practitioners who were looking for the victim.

Ms. Wang, in her 70s, was from Lixin Village, Xujiadian Town, Haiyang City, Yantai, Shandong Province. She was in good health before her death. Since 1999 when the persecution began, she had been repeatedly harassed for practising Falun Gong by the Haiyang police and village officials. She had to flee her home to avoid further harassment and had made a living as a housemaid.

Ms. Qi, who is being detained by police, is in her 50s. She and her husband have been living in Weihai for several years. Weihai police subjected her husband to two years of forced labour for clarifying the facts about Falun Gong. In order to earn money, the couple do odd jobs. Ms. Wang and Ms. Qi met at work and had a very close relationship for some years. On the evening of May 12th, 2012, they went to hang banners to celebrate May 13th, World Falun Dafa Day, in Chucun Town, which is about 10 miles from the city. Upon finishing dinner, they left home a bit after 6:00 p.m. Both were in good health and in good spirits. Ms. Qi's husband went to look for them when they did not return home at midnight. He did not find them.

A witness said that around 10:00 p.m. near the Weihai Professional Institute in Chucun Town, High-tech Industrial Development Zone, three police cars surrounded the two women. Ms. Wang was seen lying on the ground while Ms. Qi was kneeling by her side, crying for help to save her. An officer gave Ms. Wang first aid. Beside the standing officers were two persons in plainclothes whose faces were not seen clearly due to poor light. They were very young, with long hair, like college students. The officers drove away anyone who tried to approach the scene. An ambulance soon came and took the two women to Weihai Chucun hospital.

A Chucun Hospital employee said that the two women were brought into the hospital on the night of May 12th. One of them was dead on arrival. The other one suffered minor injuries, which were not life-threatening. When asked for details, the employee refused to answer, citing that the police had ordered them not to say anything.

Ms. Wang's family was called to Weihai from Haiyang on May 14th. Police then arranged for them to visit the hospital, where they were told of Ms. Wang's death and that an autopsy had been done on May 13th. The autopsy and photos revealed that Ms. Wang had sustained fractures to her clavicle, had injuries on the back of her head and face, had swollen lips, and had bled from the nose and several other places. The forensic examiner concluded she died as a result of being struck with a blunt object. The family said that it was unacceptable for the police to conduct an autopsy without the consent of the family and also expressed their doubts about the fairness of the autopsy report. The victim's family asked for access to the first hand information from the other practitioner who was at the scene. The Weihai police denied access, claiming that it was a criminal case and that they were looking for the killer.

The police's first question to the victim's family was: “Was Ms. Wang a Falun Gong practitioner?” The second question was: “Are any of you practitioners?” Ms. Wang's husband replied, “Should a practitioner be killed? You are not searching for the killer, you are just concerned about whether she practised Falun Gong.”

Ms. Qi's daughter arrived in Weihai on May 17th. A local practitioner, Wang, went to the police department with her. The officer on duty talked about neither the reason for Ms. Qi's detention nor the progress of the murder case. Instead, he repeatedly asked Ms. Qi's daughter where she learned about her mother's detention. He also questioned Wang, pulled out her archives and those of her family, and threatened her. The police later harassed practitioner Wang's mother in Rushan City. Ms. Wang's mother is also a practitioner who had been arrested for practising Falun Gong.

Ms. Qi was with Ms. Wang during the incident. She would have witnessed everything. But she is still being detained by the police. Since May 12th, police officers have repeatedly harassed practitioners in some communities in Weihai. They carried a photo of Ms. Qi with a tear-streaked face and asked practitioners to identify her. They also passed along false statements about her.

Weihai practitioners have lodged a serious protest against the Weihai police for concealing information and detaining a practitioner. Practitioners want the culprit found. There is reason to suspect that one of the police officers or someone under the protection of the police is responsible. Why else would the police spread false information? Why aren't they doing their best to track down the killer? Why are the police hindering the Weihai practitioners who are helping the victims? Why are they withholding the facts from the public?

We call for the release of the detained practitioner, and we call for the person who killed the innocent practitioner to be brought to justice as soon as possible.