(Minghui.org) When Mr. Liu Renqiu's family checked his bank account at his request, they were surprised to see that his 400,000 yuan in savings had almost vanished. The only other person who had access to his account was his arresting officer who froze his account two and a half years ago.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline persecuted by the communist regime since 1999.
While Mr. Liu is serving a 10-year term at Dalian City Prison and has been denied family visits for six months because he refuses to renounce Falun Gong, his family has no way to inform him of this loss or obtain more information about his bank account.
Mr. Liu, 48, was targeted on June 28, 2016 during a mass arrest of more than 100 Falun Gong practitioners across Liaoning Province. A total of 16 residents from Lushunkou District, Dalian City were seized from their homes on that day.
Officers broke into Mr. Liu's home when he opened the door. Two officers held him while a third officer hit his chest and lower abdomen with a boxing glove. The police ransacked his residence and confiscated many of his personal belongings.
The police had monitored the practitioners for months before orchestrating the arrests. Although some were released soon after the arrests, the majority of them were held in custody and subjected to further prosecution.
Mr. Liu suffered internal injuries from the beating and had blood in his urine after he was taken to the local detention center. He also had high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol.
The guards arranged to put him through intensive brainwashing because he refused to renounce his faith. According to people who saw him at the detention center, he was extremely emaciated as a result of the mistreatment.
Mr. Liu stood trial at Lushun Court over the course of three days, from January 17 to 19, 2017, together with eight other practitioners arrested on the same day. They were charged with “undermining law enforcement,” a standard pretext used by the Chinese communist regime to frame and imprison Falun Gong practitioners.
The court announced verdicts against the practitioners on December 22, 2017, almost a year after the hearing.
Ms. Liu Renqiu was sentenced to ten years and fined 50,000 yuan;Ms. Sheng Jie was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison and fined 30,000 yuan;Ms. Wang Hongyu was sentenced to three and a half years in prison and fined 3,000 yuan;Ms. Gu Shuchun was sentenced to two years in prison;Ms. Jin Suyue was sentenced to 18 months in prison;Mr. Wang Jinrong was sentenced to 16 months in prison;Mr. Yu Yongfu was sentenced to 15 months in prison;Mr. Liu Daixue and Mr. Wang Huixun were each sentenced to three years in prison with three years of probation.
Mr. Liu, Ms. Sheng, Ms. Wang, and Ms. Gu appealed their verdicts to Dalian Intermediate Court. The intermediate court upheld their sentences in March 2018 upon learning that they refused to renounce their faith.
Mr. Liu began to serve his prison term on April 26, 2018.