(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Li Heping is a retired official from the Fukang City Water and Electricity Bureau. She was sentenced to three years' imprisonment on December 15, 2016 after she had been illegally detained for a year and a month for her faith in Falun Gong, a practice being persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party in China. She has appealed the verdict.

Ms. Li was arrested on her way home after she finished distributing informational materials about Falun Gong to the public on November 26, 2015. She was interrogated by police. Because she was not allowed to use a restroom for an extended time, she lost control of her bowels.

The deputy head of the Kukang City Police Department whose family name is Sai told Ms. Li, “As soon as you admit that you distributed this bag of materials, you can go home, take a bath, change clothes and practice Falun Gong at home.”

Ms. Li has been held in the Fukang City Detention Center since her arrest more than a year ago. The arrest was approved on December 23, 2015. Her case was submitted to the Procuratorate in January 2016. The case was sent back for additional information and resubmitted to the Procuratorate in February 2016.

Ms. Li's family hired an attorney from Beijing to defend her. She was tried on March 29, 2016. The attorney rebutted the evidence provided by the procurator. The video recording provided by the police as evidence could not be played at all in court. The procurator finally gave up. The case was sent back to the Procuratorate for additional investigation.

Ms. Li was once again put on trial on August 30, 2016. The court announced the verdict on December 15, 2016 and sentenced Ms. Li to three years' imprisonment.

Ms. Li is 62 years old. Before she began practicing Falun Gong in October 1999, she suffered from a variety of diseases, including heart disease, nephritis, cystitis, and a liver tumor (experts suspected it is malignant). She had to be hospitalized three or four times a year. After she began practicing Falun Gong she became healthy and no longer needed to take any medicines.

However, after she was detained for one year, Ms. Li's health has declined. She has lost over 20 pounds and is experiencing pain in her heart and liver.