By the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG)

January 4, 2004

On June 26 2003, there was a series of murder cases of beggars using poison in Cangnan Town, Wenzhou, Zhejiang. After media reported high-ranking officials including the Public Security Minister Zhou Yongkang and the Provincial Officials in Zhejiang gave instructions to these cases, on July 2, Xinhua News Agency carried an article by Lu Jin in which this case was said to be "done with an investigation" and it was "suspected that it was a Falun Gong follower." On Dec 30, 2003, the intermediate court in Wenzhou sentenced Chen to death. WOIPFG had opened this case on July 2, 2003, and released the initial finding on July 5th (http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/BeggarMurder_en_revised.pdf ). Our findings showed that this case may well be another excuse made up at the order of high ranking officials in the Public Security Ministry to try to justify the persecution of Falun Gong. After an investigation being conducted over the past six months, WOIPFG has obtained the following findings:

Family: "(We) brought him to see a doctor in a psychiatric hospital prior to the case."

Not long after the case was first reported, in the middle of July, WOIPFG contacted Chen Xibao, father of Chen Fuzhao. He said that Chen Fuzhao and his wife Yu Xiaoling had lived together with them at one point when their child was two months old. After the case Chen's wife returned to her own parent's place with the baby. "Before the case, (we had) taken (Chen Fuzhao) to Neian Psychiatric Hospital, where he received treatment for about half a month" Chen Xibao explained. "While eating, (he) would put his rice on the table and his eating utensils in the bowl. Also, when he was at home, he seldom spoke, unlike what was shown on TV. After the poisoning occurred there were about 500 policemen who came to Longgang Town to investigate. Everyone in town was asked to go to the police bureau for questioning. I was questioned too. After Fuzhao was taken for questioning (they) found out about the murder case." After Chen Fuzhao was arrested, police did not allow family members to see him. They came to know about the killing from TV.

Official at local Politics and Legal Committee: "I'm not sure if (he) was clear-minded or not when the case took place."

In August, 2003, one official at the local Politics and Legal Committee (in charge of the crackdown of Falun Gong), when questioned by WOIPFG, said that, "We're not sure if (Chen Fuzhao) was clear-minded or not when the case took place. What he said and did was contradictory to what's in (Falun Gong's) books. We also found it puzzling. This case was taken care of by a specialized working team."

People in Charge of a local Hospital: "Chen Fuzhao has mental problems."

On Bejing Time Jan. 3, 2004, one official who was in charge of a local hospital in Cangnan County told WOIPFG that he had known Chen for many years. "He (Chen) did have mental problems. He used to have them and did get better for a period of time. This time there was a relapse. He relapsed after several people beat him up...There were several factors for this. We knew each other before. He was very nice. Here the hospital did not let him make a living. This hospital was one of the factors. He worked in the hospital, but they wanted to fire him. So he opened up a clinic of his own and moved out. Later he spent 50,000 yuan to buy the Lupu Hospital, but after the purchase no profit was made. The employees inside (the hospital) actually beat him up. So this caused his mental illness to relapse."

"He was not well when he was in Longxin Hospital. He went to see doctors and relapsed quite often. According to some of our doctors' analysis, his parents were a factor as well. When he graduated from college (7~8 years ago), here in our area, we have arranged marriages, so the parents choose your spouse. His marriage was arranged this way. He did not like (her), and wanted to annul the (marriage) contract. But it had already been two or three years at the time, so he could not annul it. ... The second factor was due to the medical system. The system did not leave a way out for him. He graduated from college but they did not allow him to make a living. They did not assign him any task nor did anyone care about his living. Nobody cared." (Note: Chen's current wife Yu Xiaoling was found later, they were just married for two years.)

Another doctor who knew Chen told WOIPFG that, "Chen Fuzhao has had mental problem for a long time."

Reporter: "When Chen was interviewed, sometimes he was clear-minded and sometimes he was not."

One reporter who interviewed Chen told WOIPFG that when he was interviewed, "sometimes he was clear-minded and sometimes he was not." After the report was made [public], many people called and said that "Chen Fuzhao looked psychotic."

WOIPFG also found out that there were very few people who practiced Falun Gong in Cangnan County. There was only one who went out of town to do business, he never read any Falun Gong books and only learned twice the exercises, yet he was taken as a Falun Gong practitioner and sent for "re-education" or "re-form class."

Within several months after the case took place, WOIPFG also got in touch with some law firms in Cangnan County. Some lawyers said they discussed this case and all thought that if the defendant was psychotic, he was not supposed to be sentenced to death. But Chen's case was very sensitive so there may be a different type of sentence result. Zhejiang Wenzhou intermediate court suddenly announced his death sentence on December, 30, 2003. The sentence not only violated Chinese laws, but was also suspected to have "killed off a witness," in the sense that Chen could have been questioned in order to further investigate the truth of the situation.

WOIPFG is expected to have new findings come out in the near future, including how local police, higher levels of police as well as state media were involved with this case. Please check our website frequently.

Evidence of all the abovementioned investigation findings, including writings, photos, recordings or videos, will be kept by WOIPFG and handed to legal entities if necessary. The witness' names will not be publicized for security reasons at present.

Category: Perspective