Ms. Zhang Shulan, 64, is from Motun Village, Tiechang Town, Zunhua County, Tangshan City, Hebei Province. In December 1999, she went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong with about eight fellow practitioners. She was arrested by police in Beijing, and forcibly handcuffed and beaten. The local police took her and the other practitioners back to their hometown, and illegally held them in custody at Tiechang Police Station. It was during the chill of winter and it was snowing outside. During the first three days, the police tied them to a tree, and made them sleep on the floor at night. Afterwards, the police extorted 3000 yuan in fines from each practitioner. Zhang Shulan and fellow practitioners were detained for 318 days at the Tiechang Police Station. They were then transferred to Zunhua Detention Center for a month. After she was released, she was frequently harassed by the police. Ms. Zhang Shulan died on January 31, 2002.