Arrested in a Police Sweep, 73-year-old Woman Sentenced to Five Years

(Minghui.org) A 73-year-old Qingyuan City, Guangdong Province, resident was sentenced to a five-year prison term on October 25, 2021, for her faith in Falun Gong.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Cheng Meihua was arrested at home in a police sweep on the evening of April 11, 2021. Her Falun Gong books and related materials were confiscated. Also arrested were ten other practitioners, including Ms. Lai Chengmei, Ms. Shao Yanfang, Ms. Lai Lanying, Ms. Lan Qiuxiang, Ms. Tang Rongzhu, Mr. Huang Zengyou, Ms. Liu Yuxiu, Ms. Deng, and two other practitioners whose names weren’t known.

The eleven practitioners were each held in separate rooms and given comprehensive physical exams. They were also ordered to read random sentences, likely to record their voices. The police took their heights and photographed them from the front, back, left, and right. They also ordered them to sign a thick stack of paperwork. It’s not clear what was on the papers.

Ms. Tang, Mr. Huang, Ms. Liu, and Ms. Deng were released the next day. Ms. Lai Chengmei and Ms. Shao were detained at the Yangshan County Detention Center. Ms. Lai Lanying, Ms. Lan, and Ms. Cheng were taken to the Lianzhou City Lockup.

The Lianzhou City Procuratorate approved Ms. Cheng’s arrest on May 18. After her case was transferred to the Yingde City Procuratorate, Ms. Cheng was also transferred to the Yingde City Detention Center. She was sentenced to five years in prison with a 30,000-yuan fine by the Yingde City Court on October 25.

Three days later, the same court announced sentencing Ms. Shao to five years with a 30,000-yuan fine and Ms. Lai Chengmei to two and a half years with a 10,000-yuan fine. The status of the other practitioners’ cases remains unclear.

Prior to her latest sentencing, Ms. Cheng, who took up Falun Gong in 1998, was given three years of forced labor on July 23, 2000, and detained for 15 days after her other arrest on February 23, 2004.

Perpetrators’ contact information:

Huang Guitang (黄桂棠), head of the Lianzhou City Police Department: [phone]Zhong Zhaoyong (钟兆勇), president of the Yingde City Procuratorate: [phone]Chen Shuzhong (陈树忠), president of the Yingde City Court: [phone]

(More perpetrators’ contact information is available in the original Chinese article.)

Related report:

Qingyuan City, Guangdong Province: Nine People Arrested for Their Faith Within Four Hours