Cheng Huaigen - 程怀根
(Minghui.org) Mr. Cheng Huaigen lived in Chengdu City. He was arrested on May 13, 2015, for hanging a banner that said, “The World Needs Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.”
Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance are the core principles of Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime.
Mr. Cheng was sentenced to 4 years in prison and died on May 29, 2017, less than a year after he was admitted to Jiazhou Prison. He was 54.
The prison did not explain to Mr. Cheng's family how he died. A quick glance at his body did not show any visible wounds or bruises. His loved ones couldn't believe that a once healthy man would die so young and they suspected that he might have been abused in prison.
More than a year after his passing, newly available information has revealed that Mr. Cheng had indeed been abused in prison.
According to insiders, Mr. Cheng was admitted to Jiazhou Prison around June 2016. Just a month later, he was rushed to a police hospital for unspecified symptoms. He was taken back to the prison in November 2016 but never recovered.
Mr. Cheng firmly refused to write statements to renounce Falun Gong and was punished. One form of abuse he endured lasted from January to May 2017, during which time he was only given 15 seconds to eat each meal, which was porridge most of the time. Mr. Cheng was usually only able to take a couple of sips of the porridge soup before the time was up.
Starting in February 2017, Mr. Cheng was ordered to walk or run laps on the field. Such so-called “training” went from 8 a.m. to 5:40 p.m. every day. The only break was about 30 minutes for lunch.
Mr. Cheng was then forced to stand for extended periods of time after he returned to his cell. He wasn't allowed to sleep until after 10 p.m. Even after he went to bed, two inmates were assigned to watch him around the clock to prevent him from getting up in the middle of the night to do the Falun Gong exercises or find something to eat.
This abuse last until April 2017. Mr. Cheng still refused to give up his belief in Falun Gong. Two guards then took him to a place without surveillance cameras and grabbed his hand to press his fingerprints on a pre-prepared statement denouncing Falun Gong.
Mr. Cheng had been reduced to skin and bones by May 2017. He was also forced to take unknown pills every day. His family received a call from the prison on May 29, 2017, saying he was dying. By the time they rushed to the hospital, he had already passed away.
