(Minghui.org) Four Falun Gong practitioners in Wanggang Town, Heilongjiang Province, were arrested on April 22, 2019. Although two of them, aged at 72 and 84, were released later that evening, the other two practitioners, in their 50s and 60s, remain in police custody.
A fifth practitioner, in her 80s, was harassed by the police that day also. A sixth practitioner lost contact with her family that same day and was suspected to have been arrested as well.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Wu Yanbo, in her 50s, was arrested around 4 p.m. on April 22 while doing grocery shopping at a farmers' market.
Ms. Feng, around 60, was arrested at 7 pm while working at a supermarket.
Both Ms. Wu and Ms. Feng are still detained at the time of writing.
Mr. Cheng Zhibin, 84, was arrested at 6:30 p.m. When the police knocked on the door, he thought it was his son and opened the door. A group of officers from Nangang District broke in. They ransacked his home and confiscated his Falun Gong books, cellphone and contact book. Mr. Cheng was then brought to the local police station for interrogation. It was already midnight when his son was notified to pick him up.
Three days before Mr. Cheng's arrest, two officers from Wanggang Town Police Station harassed him. They checked every room at his home and took a picture of him.
Ms. Zhang Zaihua, 72, was arrested at 7 pm. Seven officers from the Nangang Police Department broke into her home with the key taken from her daughter. Her Falun Gong books and other personal items were confiscated. Ms. Zhang was also interrogated and forced to sign the interrogation record. She was released around midnight.
Ms. Wu Lingying, in her 80s, had her home ransacked by three officers from Nangang Police Department at 9 pm. As Ms. Wu was bedridden due to some physical ailments, the police didn't interrogate her that evening but returned to do the interrogation on the next morning.
Ms. Yu Ping, nearly 60, disappeared on the evening of April 22. Her family suspects that she was arrested as well.