(Clearwisdom.net) (correspondent from Henan Province) Four elderly practitioners, Mr. He Jinliang, Ms. Wang Aizhi, Mr. Cheng Jinjing and Mr. Wang Tianyu are residents of Shanan, Chuanhui District, Zhoukou City, Henan Province. In early January 2009, police officers from the Shanan Public Security Bureau and Gao Feng, divisional leader of the Shanan State Security Bureau, arrested and detained them. They were then illegally sentenced in September 2009. Mr. Cheng Jinjing had an old injury to his leg which began to flare up again while he was in custody. Due to the severe pain in his leg, he was unable walk without help, and had to lie down on the floor to avoid further pain. Due to his serious condition, prison guards sent him to the hospital for treatment many times. The authorities did not care about his condition and sent him to Xinmi Prison, Zhengzhon City.

Details of the Arrests and Persecution

Mr. Cheng Jinjing, now in his sixties, is a retired former head of Technical Supervision in Zhoukou City. When Mr. Cheng was in his forties, and before he practiced Falun Dafa, he was involved in a car accident, which left him with serious injuries to his head, face, shoulders, hips and legs. Doctors operated on many of his injuries, but the injury sustained to one of his legs eventually caused him to lose mobility in that leg. During cold winters or rainy weather, the pain in his leg would be excruciating, and hard for him to endure. The injury forced him to leave his job and stay at home. He started practicing Falun Dafa in the spring of 1996 and soon after, his health greatly improved. Although he still had a limp when he walked, the pain had basically disappeared. With his improved health and happier personality, Mr. Cheng had tremendous admiration and gratitude towards Dafa.

When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started the persecution against Falun Dafa, Mr. Cheng went to Beijing to petition for justice and the right to practice. He was arrested three times by the police. Ma Zhefeng, chief of the Chuanhui State Security Bureau, had ordered the first two arrests at the beginning of the persecution. When Mr. Cheng was first arrested, he was detained in the Xiangcheng Detention Center for several months. The second time he was arrested, he was detained for almost a year. Under the adverse living conditions, forced labor and poor quality meals, his health rapidly deteriorated, and the pain in his leg resurfaced. His upper body began to stiffen and his ability to walk became a serious problem. After his release, his health showed some improvement but not completely. Some mornings, his pain was so severe that he needed help to get out of bed.

At approximately 9:00 a.m on the morning of January 9, 2009, a dozen police officers arrested Mr. Cheng Jinjing while he was riding his bicycle not too far from his home. The police forcibly took his house key and ransacked his home. Mr. Cheng was then held in the Zhoukou Detention Center.

On January 4, 2009, Gao Feng, Hou Hongqi, and two female police officers from the State Security Bureau and Shanan Public Security Bureau went to Mr. He Jinliang's home. Mr. He is a retired employee of the Zhoukou City Real Estate Bureau. When the police knocked on his door, Mr. He opened it, and they immediately dragged him into a police car. When Mr. He's wife realized her husband had not come back in, she went to look for him, and was also bundled into the police car. As this was happening, Mr. Feng Zijun, a retiree from the Zhoukou City Procuratorate, arrived at Mr. He's home. He was also taken by the police.

When practitioner Mr. Wang Tianyu, in his fifties, a retired maintenance worker from the Zhoukou Petroleum Company, was riding his bike towards Mr. He's home, he saw the police there and decided not to continue. Mr. Wang rode his bike around the streets for awhile before returning home. Eight police officers, including Gao Feng and Hou Hongqi, saw Mr. Wang and followed him. They broke into his home, handcuffed him and his wife Ms. Wang Xiuling, a non-practitioner, and then ransacked their home. When they had finished, they released Ms. Wang Xiuling, but took Mr. Wang away.

In his earlier days, Mr. Wang Tianyu loved to play Mahjong and drink alcohol. When he drank too much and was provoked by others, he would sometimes lose control and beat his wife when he got home. When he started practicing Falun Dafa in 1996, he soon quit drinking and playing Mahjong. He studied Teacher's articles, diligently practiced the excises, and became a good person. His relationship with his wife also improved. From Mr. Wang's changes, his neighbors and co-workers were able to witness the beauty and power of Dafa. Because of this more than a dozen people started practicing Falun Dafa.

When the persecution started, Mr. Wang did not give up his faith and continued to study Teacher's articles and lectures, did the exercises, and told people the facts about the persecution of Falun Dafa. In 2000, he was arrested by officers from the Chuanhui District State Security Bureau (formally known as Zhoukou City State Security Bureau). He was detained for more than ten days before being released, after police had extorted several thousand yuan from him. A year ago, Gao Feng had been asking for the whereabouts of Mr. Wang, since he had moved home. Once Gao Feng had information on where Mr. Wang was now living, he began to monitor his new home. Finally, Mr. Wang was arrested by Gao Feng and other police officers.

Mr. He Jinliang's entire family practices Falun Dafa. This includes Mr. He, his wife Ms. Wang Aizhi, and their two daughters - Ms. He Huihui, the eldest daughter who attends Beijing Agricultural University, and their youngest daughter, who is in junior high school. After the CCP started to persecute Falun Gong, Mr. He's family went to Beijing to petition for the right to practice Falun Dafa. They were arrested and detained, and Ms. He Huihui was expelled from Beijing Agricultural University.

At the beginning of the persecution, Gao Feng was only an assistant head of Shanan State Security Bureau. He once said, "He Jinliang may own a beautiful house for now, but who knows who may own it in the future?" While Mr. He and his family were being held in the detention center, Li Yuzheng, the current assistant head of the Shanan State Security Bureau, inquired about Mr. He's youngest daughter. Li wanted to use her as a bargaining chip to extort money from Mr. He. But the attempt did not succeed, as she was too young to be detained.

In the last few years, Gao Feng has been promoted to rank of divisional leader, and had been watching Mr. He and his family very closely. Once, he took other officers and forced their way into Mr. He's home. Gao Feng tried to find Dafa materials there but couldn't, so they ransacked the house and took away valuable personal belongings.

Details of Illegal Sentencing

When these four older practitioners were detained, the police knew that their family members would be eager to rescue them, so they used this opportunity to repeatedly extort money from them. Gao Feng and his gang were afraid that their evil conduct might be exposed overseas on the Minghui websites. Through intimidation they tried to prevent their families from exposing the information of their persecution. However, when their wicked deeds were exposed, they blamed the practitioners' families. They told them that if they hadn't exposed the persecution, the four practitioners might have been released within a month. However, since the persecution of these practitioners was exposed, it was decided that they would be sentenced. The police even tried to distance themselves from any responsibility by blaming the practitioners' families for their sentencing.

In September 2009, Zhoukou City's district court sentenced the four practitioners. Mr. Wang Tianyu was sentenced to three and a half years, Ms. Wang Aizhi and Mr. Cheng Jinjing were each sentenced to three years, and Mr. He Jinliang was sentenced to a one-year prison term. At end of September, Mr. Wang Tianyu and Mr. Cheng Jinjing were sent to Xinmi Prison in Zhoukou City, Ms. Wang Aizhi was sent to the Xinxiang Women's Prison, and Mr. He Jinliang is being held in Zhoukou City's Detention Center with another practitioner, Mr. Feng Zijun, a high ranking official from the Zhoukou City's Procuratorate.