(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Chen Haifeng, 69, owned a fine arts store called "Shiwaitao" and a member of the Fine Arts Society. It was located in Gaoling City, Heilongjiang Province. In 2004 he was illegally sentenced to four years in jail because he practiced Falun Gong.

Mr. Chen Haifeng started practicing Falun Gong in January 1996. He had suffered bronchitis for many years, and after practicing Falun Gong this condition disappeared. Mr. Chen was a caring person and his handwriting was very good. As a result his business was prosperous. When he once found a gold necklace in his store, he returned it to his customer. When a customer failed to pay him the right amount, he did not argue about it. Such a kind man, however, is being persecuted because he does not want to give up his practice.

On the evening of July 24, 2000, Han Dongyi, a section head of the police department in the Fangzhenglinye District, along with seven other police officers came to Mr. Chen's home to search for Falun Gong books and materials. Han Dongyi also pressured and tortured him to find out where all the Falun Gong materials had come from. Such visits by police officers without prior notice occurred three times and each time all Falun Gong materials were taken.

Police officers Han Dongyi, Shi Ziping and Zhang Haicheng visited Mr. Chen's house and business to search for Falun Gong materials. If any of the materials was found, Mr. Chen received a fine. He was fined four times totaling eleven hundred yuan. In addition, they confiscated his carving knife, pigments, carving materials, a phone book and two high-quality handbooks.

In February 2000, Mr. Chen was detained in a detention center for two months. In June 2001 he was detained again in the detention center for six months. Due to the poor sanitary conditions inside the detention center, his body developed scabs and he was forced to close his store.

On the evening of May 26, 2004, Zhang Haicheng and other police officers came to his home, arrested Mr. Chen and had him sentenced to four years in jail. He is now being held in the Hulan Prison of Heilongjiang Province.

Mr. Chen's mother-in-law heard the sad news of his sentencing and later died of anguish.