Sentenced to Six Years for His Faith, Liaoning Man Dies 9 Months after Being Released on Medial Parole

(Minghui.org) Mr. Shao Minggang, a 62-year-old man in Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, died on February 27, 2019, nine months after he was released on medical parole.

Mr. Shao had been sentenced to 6 years for his faith in Falun Gong following his latest arrest in March 2016. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a meditation system that consists of five sets of gentle exercises and the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. The Chinese Communist Party began to suppress the group in July 1999.

Mr. Shao was abused in prison and his health quickly declined. He vomited blood and fainted on multiple occasions. The prison authorities only had his blood pressure and electrocardiogram taken, but they refused to provide him with any medical care and still forced him to do hard labor when he came to. He was released on parole on May 2, 2018 but never recovered.

Mr. Shao Minggang, 62, died on February 27, 2019, after years of torture and harassment for his belief in Falun Gong.

Arrest and Sentencing

The latest of arrest of Mr. Shao was on March 4, 2016 by Jinzhou 610 Office and Linghe Police. His blood pressure shot up to 240, and Jinzhou Detention Center refused to accept him. But the police later convinced the detention center to admit Mr. Shao and told Linghe Court to process this case quickly.

Despite Mr. Shao's poor health, a hearing took place inside the detention center on March 16, 2016. Linghe Court officials sentenced him to six years on March 28. Later that year, he was sent to Dongling Prison in Shenyang City.

Mr. Shao's health deteriorated in the prison. His blood pressure remained high. He became incontinent and had difficulty walking.

He vomited blood between January 2 and 5, 2018, but the prison officials did not take any action. After other detained practitioners protested, they took him to Dongling Prison Hospital in the evening on January 5. His blood pressure and electrocardiogram were taken, but no treatments were given to him. After returning to the cell on January 29, Mr. Shao fainted and fell as he went to the bathroom.

Four days later, Mr. Shao fainted and fell again while doing hard labor. He fell another time the next day when an inmate was pushing him in a wheelchair. At the workshop he fell yet again, followed by another falling incident in the bathroom.

He was given medical parole on April 28, 2018 and returned home on May 2, 2018. At home, his health gradually recovered through his practice of Falun Gong.

The local police then required him to provide weekly updates to them and pay them 150 yuan to cover their cost of monitoring his phone.

Between late 2018 and the first two weeks of 2019, police and local officials came to Mr. Shao's home many times to harass him. They claimed that he was faking illness and forced his family to take him to a hospital for medical examination—if he turned out to be healthy, they would take him back to prison. The constant harassment and threat caused great mental pressure for Mr. Shao and his family.

Previous Detentions and Torture

Since July 1999, Mr. Shao was detained and tortured many times. After going to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, he was fired by his employer in 1999. He went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong again in 2000 and was arrested and sent to Jinzhou Brainwashing Center, where he was forced to undergo brainwashing.

In order to avoid further arrests, Mr. Shao left home in April 2004, only to be arrested one month later in Shandong Province. Police from his hometown of Jinzhou City brought him back. They beat him and burned his jaw with a lighter. His face became deformed.

Mr. Shao went on hunger strike after being sent to Jingzhou First Detention Center. He was transferred to Jinzhou Labor Camp to serve a three-year term on August 30, 2004, and his family wasn't notified. During the process, the labor camp initially refused to accept him due to his poor health, but they yielded after receiving an order from the head of Jingzhou Police Department to keep him detained.

In September 2004, the labor camp launched a campaign aimed to make detained Falun Gong practitioners give up their belief. The guards were not allowed to go back home and must live in the labor camp during the campaign period.

Mr. Shao was kept in solitary confinement and force-fed every day. Despite his life-threatening condition, Assistant Director Li Fenglin and other guards continued force-feeding him with a large amount of salt water, making him emaciated with a blood pressure of 260. Mr. Shao also suffered from chest pain.

The guards launched another round of abuse against detained practitioners in October 2005. They beat practitioners, shocked them with electric batons, played loud noises, and deprived them of sleep. Mr. Shao's hair turned gray shortly afterwards, and he was on the verge of death.

The prison guards didn't let up their torture of Mr. Shao. He was given food laced with unknown drugs in late May 2006 from 4:30 a.m. till 9 p.m. every day.

His health kept declining, but he was not released until his labor camp term expired on May 22, 2007.

During a mass arrest of Falun Gong practitioners in Jinzhou between October and November 2014, Mr. Shao was arrested again and sent to Jinzhou Detention Center. His blood pressure shot up during his detention and was released on December 20, 2014. His family had to pay 5,000 yuan before being allowed to take him home.

Key Responsible Personnel

Huang Ping: director of Linghe Court, [phone], [phone]