(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Cai Chunpeng from Shantou City has been illegally detained for about 40 days. He went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution and is now in critical condition.

Mr. Cai was arrested on the morning of January 3, 2018, by six officers from the Chenghai District Police Department. They proceeded to ransack his home and confiscated a computer and three cell phones. He is currently detained in the Baisha Detention Center.

The guards initially ordered Mr. Cai’s wife and parents to come to the detention center in an attempt to persuade Mr. Cai to sign unspecified documents related to his arrest.

He then went on a hunger strike, which has lasted for over 40 days. The guards have force fed him every third day, and his health has continued to deteriorate.

Mr. Cai's parents went to the detention center on February 11, 2018, and demanded that they release him on medical parole. Their request was denied.

Mr. Cai is 38 years old. He graduated from the Information Technology Department of Guangdong Industrial University. He is a senior engineer. His last arrest occurred in September 2011. The police seized and withheld his diploma and engineering certificate, resulting in great hardship.