(Clearwisdom.net)

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Lei Xin taught at the Taoxu Town Elementary School in Mengyin County, Shandong Province. She went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong at the end of 1999 and was illegally arrested. The police took 1,500 yuan from her and sent her back to Mengyin County. She was held at the Mengyin Detention Center.

Another practitioner held in the same cell with Ms. Lei did the Falun Gong exercises on Chinese New Year's Eve in 2000. The guards handcuffed her to the window grates. Lei Xin protested, "She was only doing some exercises!" The guards then also handcuffed her to the window grate for the whole night.

Lei Xin also did the Falun Gong exercises in the detention center, so the guards put her in handcuffs and shackles. Other practitioners strongly protested this abuse, and the guards unlocked her handcuffs. But, she was forced to wear 80-lb shackles during her 27 days at the detention center. The guards extorted 10,000 yuan in cash from her family before they took her back to Taoxu Town in early March 2000. They further detained her for a little over 30 days.

Mo Guangli, Taoxu Town's former deputy head, and his subordinates arrested Ms. Lei at 8:00 p.m. on March 6, 2000, and took her to the front hall on the third floor of Taoxu Town's Finance Institute, where other practitioners lay injured and bleeding on the ground.

When Lei Xin first entered the hall, someone struck her with a heavy object with brutal force. She instantly collapsed on the ground and lost consciousness. Later on an official on duty said, "That was a terrible blow. She might not recover for six months."

After a while the officials pulled her up. Mo Guangli led eight people, including Mo Guangliang, Lai Xianlu, Ji Hailong, and Li Qiang. They took turns beating Ms. Lei and struck her to the ground several times. They forced her to remove her shoes and socks and stand barefoot on the floor before they continued the beating. When they grew tired they took a break and then went back to hitting her. Several hours of barbaric beatings left Lei Xin with a disfigured face and body. Her left eye was so swollen she could not see anything. Mo Guangli dragged her to the first floor and asked a doctor whether Lei Xin could tolerate more beating. Shockingly, the doctor said, "More beating is just fine!"

Ms. Lei was thus taken to the third floor, where the beatings continued. When the officials got tired they ordered her and other practitioners to stand barefoot against a wall with their arms raised above their heads. The officials then left. The person on duty told the practitioners to lie down and rest. One kind-hearted person on duty cried after she saw the practitioners' suffering and brought Lei Xin some water.

Lei Xin's husband arrived early in the morning on March 7, 2000, and wailed in anguish as soon as he saw his completely unrecognizable wife. It was the birthday of Lei Xin's mother-in-law, who was also detained for practicing Falun Gong. The old woman heard about how Lei Xin had been beaten and asked to see her. The officials flatly refused. Lei Xin's sister-in-law also went to see her and cried, too, as did Lei Xin's sister.

The officials extorted another 4,000 yuan from Lei Xin during this illegal detention. They also withheld several months' salary from both Lei Xin and her husband. They took a total of 24,000 yuan from the couple.

Practitioner Ms. Yin Shulan, 63 years old, lived in Wangjiamayu Village, Taoxu Town, Mengyin County. She suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and cluster headaches for several decades, but all of the illnesses disappeared after she started practicing Falun Gong. She was overjoyed.

Ms. Yin went to Beijing to appeal for Teacher and Dafa on August 13, 2001. She was arrested at Tiananmen Square. Official Zhang Jiman from Taoxu Town, Li Changxiang and Gong, police department deputy heads and Wang Zhaomin, and Mayu Village Party secretary took her from the Mengyin County Liaison Office in Beijing to the Mengyin County 610 Office. They also extorted 200 yuan from her. Zhang Yong and Liu Zhaoguo from the police department's 610 Office tortured her. Wang Wei beat her until she was black and blue; Xing Xianying gagged her with a towel and handcuffed her to an electricity pole.

The officials took Ms. Yin to a detention center on August 25, 2001. Police officer Sun Kehai often ordered his subordinates to verbally and physically assault her. They later extorted 350 yuan from her son.

Persecutor Lei Yancheng thought he could not get any money from Ms. Yin Shulan since she was retired. He colluded with Shi Yunduan and extorted money from her two sons, who didn't practice Falun Gong. Another town official, Zhang Jiman, extorted 600 yuan from Yin Shulan's sons. Several days later persecutor Zhang Jiman told her sons that he had something to discuss with them. He got them into a car and drove them to the town government, where he locked them up and threatened them. Her sons and daughter feared that their mother could not endure torture due to her age. They borrowed 10,000 yuan and gave it to the officials before the greedy officials let Yin Shulan go home.

During this time Zhang Jiman led Li Zhenguo, Wang Zhaoyang, Ma Xiujuan, Lai Xianlu and several others. They confiscated the contents of Yin Shulan's vegetable storage cabinet, closet, big and small desks, and a wall clock.

Hu Faming, Wang Zhaoyang and others took Ms. Yin to the town government in the spring of 2002 and didn't release her until they had extorted 60 yuan from her.

Lin Wei, head of Mengshan Police Department; Sun Wei, deputy head of the police department; and another officer ransacked Ms. Yin's home on February 17, 2004. They took 600 yuan and transported her to a small room at the Mengyin County 610 Office. They gave her only a small steamed bun for each meal and often forced her to stand and squat. They permitted her merely two hours of sleep a day. A female persecutor named Wang Xin once hit Yin Shulan with a floor mop until she bled and finally shoved the mop into Yin Shulan's mouth. Lei Yancheng, Fang Simin, Wang Xin, and others tortured Yin Shulan for 80 days and extorted 1,000 yuan from her family before they released her.

Practitioner Mr. Gong Weichun, 53 years old, lived in Weicheng Village. He once nearly died from severe illnesses that tormented him for more than a decade. His family was poverty-stricken because they spent all their money on medical treatment. Gong Weichun enjoyed great health and improved moral character after he practiced Falun Gong. He took good care of his parents and had a great relationship with his neighbors.

The Communist Party began persecuting Falun Gong on July 20, 1999. When Gong Weichun refused to hand over his Dafa books, a group of people including Li Taide, Zheng Qingzhao, Deng Xiangyang, and Li Qiang beat him and made him pay an illegal 200-yuan fine.

Local police officers Zhang Daoxin and Diao Chuanjun arrested Gong Weichun on February 21, 2000, because he signed a joint-statement letter to the United Nations that explained the facts about Falun Dafa. They took photographs of him and extorted 220 yuan from him.

Town government official Lei Weichun arrested Mr. Gong and took him to the town government on February 21, 2000. Gong Weichun told the town's deputy head Lu Yixiang that his 80-year-old mother was running a high fever and suffering an asthma attack at home, that her life was in danger and he needed to go home to take her to the hospital. Lu Yixiang attempted to coerce Mr. Gong to curse Teacher, in addition to fining him 10,000 yuan. Gong Weichun firmly refused.

Fortunately, village Party secretary Yang Xinwen sent two people to take care of Mr. Gong's mother at night and arranged for a doctor to examine her. The neighbors took turns taking care of her during the day. Gong Weichun's two brothers, who lived in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, rushed to their mother's bedside. They saw that Gong Weichun could be arrested at any time, so they had no choice but to take their sickly mother to the cold northern Inner Mongolia. The combination of severe illness and shock proved too much for the frail woman. She passed away three months later in Inner Mongolia.

Gong Weichun was tortured for 15 days at the town government compound. A group of officials including Mo Guangli, Li Taide, Li Qiang, Lu Yixiang, Qin Chengzhi, and Lai Xianlu each took a wooden stick and prepared to beat him on March 7, 2000. They wrapped Gong his head in a piece of cloth and viciously struck him with the sticks. The cycle of beatings followed by a short break went on for three rounds. Gong Weichun lost consciousness and dried blood glued his shirt to his flesh. Li Taide whipped his face with a bamboo stick. Bo Guangli and two other people poured cold water on his head before throwing him outside. He regained consciousness, and his whole body was throbbing in pain. The officials also extorted 4,000 yuan from him.

Officials Bao Xitang and Deng Xiangyang savagely beat Mr. Gong again in the village government office in December 2000. They also kicked him in the head and stomach.

Official Li Qiang led some people and took Gong Weichun to the town government again in early February 2001. After torturing him for two weeks, one evening Mo Guangli, Shi Yunduan Lu Hu, Lai Xianlu, Mo Guangliang and a few others took him to a small room. They turned off the light and hit him with eight sticks at once; the beating continued until the sticks broke and the officials were exhausted. Mr. Gong nearly died from this beating.

Police officers Zhang Daoxin, Li Changxiang, Diao Chuanjun and others pried the door to his home open on April 28, 2001. They confiscated Teacher's lecture cassette tapes and an enlarger that belonged to Gong Weichun's younger brother. Town officials Shi Yunduan, Lu Yixiang, Li Qiang, Zhang Chengwu, Li Zhaofa, Wang Zhaoyang and others took 500 kg [1,100 lbs] of wheat, 25 kg [55 lbs] of peanut oil, two boxes of cotton, bike(s), and hand carts. Mr. Gong Weichun left home to avoid arrest and further persecution, but since that day, officials from the police department and the 610 Office have tried daily to arrest him. After he left home, the police confiscated his land, vegetable garden and peach orchard.