Pei Xiuyan, 37, was a Falun Gong practitioner from Dashizhuzi Township, Kuancheng County, Hebei Province. On December 23, 2000, she went to Beijing to appeal and was arrested there. Later, police at the Kuancheng County Police Department took her back and put her in the county detention center. It was very cold at that time and she suffered a lot while in detention. Under the tremendous mental abuse, she developed edema all over her body. Her feet were so swollen that she couldn't even put them in her shoes. She also had great difficulty walking. Many times she requested to be released, but no one responded to her.

On January 21, 2001, her cellmates saw that she was on the verge of death and called the guards for help. Only then did captain Yang Shunqing and prison doctor Lu Yushu come to her cell to take a look. A little after 10:00 that morning, they sent her to the hospital. After the checkup, they took her back to the detention center. Several hours later her cellmates had to call for help again since she again was in critical condition. When the guards came in, they saw she was dying. In order to shirk the responsibility, they sent her again to the hospital around 2:00 in the afternoon. At 9:00 that night she passed away.