(Minghui.org) Nine Falun Gong practitioners and their family members were arrested by officers from the Domestic Security Division of the Shouguang City Police Department in Shandong Province on April 4, 2012. One month later, Ms. Yuan Xiulan, Ms. Shan Meirong, Ms. Zhang Airong, Ms. Chen Guimei, the son of Ms. Chen Mei, and Xiao Zhao were illegally sentenced to forced labor. Since Ms. Shan Meirong and Ms. Chen Guimei failed to pass the health examination, the labor camp refused to take them. These two practitioners have now returned home. Ms. Chen Mei is still being held at the Shouguang Detention Center where she is facing sentencing.

On April 4, 2012, Guo Hongtang, deputy head of the Domestic Security Division of the Shouguang City Police Department, and his men, in collaboration with the officers from the Yangkou Police Sub-department, arrested nine practitioners and their families. Those arrested included Ms. Yuan Xiulan, in her fifties, Ms. Shan Meirong, in her fifties, Ms. Zhang Airong, around 60, and her son Mr. Yin Yanfei, in his thirties, accountant Xiao Zhao, around 30, Ms. Chen Mei and her husband, around 60, their son and daughter-in-law, around 30, from Weidong Salt Field, as well as Ms. Chen Guimei (Mr. Yin Yanfei's mother-in-law) from Taiping Village, Haihua District, Weifang City. Their homes were ransacked by the officers, who did not follow any legal procedures.

The officers ransacked Ms. Yuan Xiulan's home first, then arrested her. At the Yangkou Police Sub-department the officers threatened her by saying, “Someone reported you, saying that you gave him a DVD of the Shen Yun Performing Arts.” She was then pressured to reveal the names of the practitioners she knew, who her contacts were, and who she helped to install NTDTV satellite dishes. When she refused, they slapped her in the face, kicked, and punched her. Mr. Yin Yanfei was arrested when visiting his mother by the officers who were hiding outside his mother's house.

Three officers deceived Ms. Shan Meirong into opening her door at around 9:00 p.m. on April 4, 2012. As soon as the door was opened, the officers handcuffed her, giving no explanation, then started to ransack her two houses without going through any formalities. On the following day, the officers went to her home again when there was no one there. They took personal belongings, 20,000 yuan in cash, and shopping cards. Xiao Zhao's and Ms. Chen Mei's homes were also ransacked. The items taken from Ms. Chen's home were valued at 70-80,000 yuan.

At the Yangkou Police Sub-department, the officers cuffed Ms. Shan Meirong to an iron chair in an attempt to extort a confession by torture. One of the officers slapped her with force and kicked her. He also stepped on the tips of her toes with his shoes. The officer only stopped when he was out of breath and exhausted. By this time Ms. Shan Meirong's face was swollen and deformed, and her legs were black and blue as a result of the severe kicking. Nonetheless she remained cuffed to the iron chair for the entire night.

After Ms. Chen Mei's son and Xiao Zhao were arrested, the same torture methods were used to extort a confession. The two practitioners were punched and kicked as well as slapped. Ms. Chen Mei's son had blood on all his fingers. It was learned that the police at the Yangkou Police Sub-department used needles, toothpicks, and other sharp items to prick the practitioners' fingers.

Besides using torture to extort a confession, the officers also played tricks to deceive the practitioners. Some used violence and others disguised themselves with false compassion. When the officer who used violence to extort a confession was not around another officer pretended to be in a hurry and whispered to the practitioner, “Several people in my family are also learning Dafa. Please tell me the phone number of the practitioners you contacted so that I can warn them to avoid further losses.”

After the practitioners had been tortured they were held at a Yangkou High School for five days, and then held at the Shouguang Detention Center. During their detention in Yangkou, Ms. Chen Mei's husband and daughter-in-law were extorted of 30,000 yuan before Ms. Chen Mei was released. The police forced Mr. Yin Yanfei to go home and get a bank deposit certificate and then withdraw money from the bank. He only had 15,000 yuan but the police pressed him to pay 20,000 before releasing him. Mr. Yin had to borrow 5,000 yuan from his relatives.

Ms. Yuan Xiulan, Ms. Shan Meirong, Ms. Zhang Airong, Ms. Chen Guimei, Ms. Chen Mei's son, and Xiao Zhao have now been illegally sentenced to forced labor. Among them Ms. Chen Mei's son and Xiao Zhao were held at the Wangcun Forced Labor Camp in Zibo City, Shandong Province and the four other practitioners were sentenced to one year of forced labor, and are being held at Shandong Women's Forced Labor Camp. Ms. Shan Meirong and Ms. Chen Guimei were refused by the forced labor camp for not passing the health examinations and were later released. Ms. Chen Mei is now being held at Shouguang Detention Center where she is facing illegal sentencing.

Sun Mingliang, Shouguang City Party secretary: +86-13678660003
Zhu Lanxi, mayor: +86-13686361838
Sun Yaqiaoqiao, head of the Shouguang City Police Department: +86-13605363220
Zhang Hongwei, head of the Domestic Security Division: +86-13563633999
Guo Hongtang, deputy head of the Domestic Security Division: +86-13506492688, 86-536-5298766 (O), +86-536-5298300 (H)
Wu Zhenping, director of the “Anti-cult” Association: +86-13583608371
Zhao Xuchun, Party secretary of the Shouguang Political and Judicial Committee: +86-13906360329