(Minghui.org) “What is your name?” A police officer asked the arrested lady.
She didn't answer and the police officer slapped her in the face.
Still no answer. The sound of more slaps to the face rang out in the room, and they soon turned into punches to the face. When that didn't work, he took off her shoes and stomped on her bare feet, grinding his heels into her toes. He also hit her legs with his shoes and threatened to shock her with an electric baton.
This lady, Ms. Gao Song (高松), from Fushun City, Liaoning Province, had committed no crime. She was arrested in 2009 and imprisoned for a total of 2 years and 8 months simply because she practiced Falun Gong.
Arrested and Tortured at the Police Station
Ms. Gao was arrested on the morning of April 18, 2009 when visiting a practitioner in Fushun. Police arrested her outside that practitioner's home. She was taken to Wanghua District Guangming Police Station and interrogated by police officer Wang Yonghai (王永海) and another officer.
Wang asked her name and Ms. Gao remained quiet. Wang started slapping her in the face, punching her, and stomping on her feet.
From the identification card of one of her family members found in her bag, the police discovered her identity. In the afternoon, the police ransacked her home, confiscating the pictures of the founder of Falun Gong, Falun Gong books, flyers and pamphlets, as well as a few DVDs, a few boxes of carbon copy paper and a Sony DVD player. They also confiscated 1,200 yuan.
Two police officers from the Guangming Police Station interrogated her after they ransacked her home. They asked her where she got the carbon copy paper. Getting no answer, one officer hit her, and another pinched her collarbone and punched her in the shoulder.
Held in Fushun Detention Center
Ms. Gao was transferred to the Fushun Detention Center, where there were far too many detainees per cell.
Everything was unhygienic. The food was dirty, with insects and dirt in it. Carrots and potatoes were cooked without being washed.
They were forced to work from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., or sometimes until 8 p.m. They worked with a glue that was harmful and had an unpleasant smell.
The guards in the detention center confiscated any money sent by the practitioners' families. Therefore, practitioners couldn't purchase necessities from the center-owned shop.
Tortured at the Liaoning Women's Prison
After six months of detention, Ms. Gao was sentenced to three years in prison in November 2009. Upon her arrival at Liaoning Women's Prison, the guards confiscated anything that she had brought with her. They only gave her two rolls of toilet paper, two undershirts, a bar of soap, and some laundry detergent.
She was held in the Third Ward, now called the First Ward. Ma Xiuyan (马秀艳), the chief guard in that ward, was mainly responsible for persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. He ordered two inmates to torture her in an effort to have her renounce Falun Gong.
The two inmates forced her to read books and watch videos slandering Falun Gong and its founder. They forced her to stand for a long time during the day and did not allow her to sleep at night.
When none of the usual tricks worked to make Ms. Gao give up her belief, they switched to cutting off daily necessities. In their words, “Why should we keep beating you, when it takes so much effort from us? What if we took away your toilet paper? Even if you want to wash your butt with water, you still need a bottle for the water. Let's see what you can do when you have nothing.”
Ms. Gao eventually wrote a statement against her will to renounce her belief. Still she was forced to work from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and at times from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. without having a day off, including designated off days.
Ms. Gao was released in December 2011.
