[Minghui Net] Falun Gong practitioner Wang Xiujuan, female, 37 years old, of Masung Village, Lechang County, Shandong Province was beaten to death at the local Elderly Home (translator's note: similar toa home for the elderly run by a local government in the U.S.) on February 13, 2001. According to eye-witness accounts, Wang Xiujuan and seven fellow Falun Gong practitioners had been illegally detained since September 26, 2000 by the township under the pretense of a "transformation class," and they were not released until February 13, 2001, almost five months later. Each practitioner was kept in a separate room that was locked day and night, and they were not allowed family visits, even for the Chinese Lunar New Year. It was confirmed that Ms. Wang's family members brought her home once, due to the fact that they could not stand witnessing the prolonged inhumane treatment she was receiving. When the special enforcement unit found out, the township forcibly took Ms. Wang back from her family to continue to beat and torture her. Ms. Wang had not had any food for 3 or 4 days. Because of the prolonged torture, her body became so weak that she eventually died. After the township government tortured Wang Xiujuan to death, it declared that Wang "committed suicide by hanging herself." This is an undeniable case in which Jiang Zemin and those who carry out his criminal agenda "treat those beaten to death as suicide." We reserve the right to take legal action against the perpetrators. We firmly believe those who commit murder will eventually be brought to justice. The perpetrators of the township government committed many other serious crimes besides murdering Ms. Wang. During the night of February 11, 2000, some employees of the township government verbally abused and violently beat Falun Gong practitioners who signed a statement expressing their determination to continue to practice Falun Gong. Practitioners were called into a room one at a time and beaten by five or six perpetrators. Practitioners were kicked with boots, punched with fists, and slapped on their faces. Their faces and bodies had bumps and bruises all over. Then the perpetrators stripped the practitioners'winter clothing off and dumped water over their bodies. They would not allow practitioners to sleep and made them stay outside in the snow-covered yard in cold, windy weather. Some practitioners were tortured to the point of losing consciousness. The perpetrators used all means they could think of to torture Falun Gong practitioners. Whenever a holiday came, they would illegally arrest and detain practitioners. During those times, they would beat the practitioners and force them to pay fines. Once, three practitioners went to Beijing to petition for Falun Gong. After they were escorted back to town, cadres of the township tortured them for five whole days. Having survived the brutal torture, they were then sent to Lechang labor camp. Since July 22, 1999, all practitioners here who were detained for over ten days were also made to pay heavy fines, which have reached several hundred thousand Yuan RMB (translator's note: Chinese dollars, the monthly salary of an averaged worker in cities of China is about 500 yuan) The county government even paid bonuses in the amount of several dozens of thousand Yuan to the perpetrators to encourage their criminal behavior. List of perpetrators: Main perpetrators: Sun Lanxin, Communist Party Secretary of Masung Township Zhao Shijun, Secretary of Policies and Law Liu Gaochang, Township recruiting officer for armed forces Other perpetrators: Gao Yongrui, Gao Xingbo, Guo Wenbo, Tang Longyun (By China mainland practitioners)

Category: Reports of Death Cases