(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Kong Xiangzhu, 39, a Falun Gong practitioner from Shuangyashan City, Heilongjiang Province, was tortured to the brink of death at Mudanjiang Prison. Mr. Kong was only released after the prison extorted 5,000 yuan from his family. On April 18, 2007, family members carried Mr. Kong home from the prison, only to see him pass away two months later.

Mr. Kong Xiangzhu before passing away

While at Mudanjiang Prison Mr. Kong would not give up his belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and because of this he was subjected to severe torture. Officer Li Yan of the 610 Office, along with other prison guards, pulled Mr. Kong onto a basketball court in the middle of summer. He was forced to sit on the burning concrete. They said, "You can meditate right? We'll let you meditate this time."

Guards sprinkled plastic bags with mustard powder and then covered Mr. Kong's head with the bag. Mr. Kong's face turned purple from the lack of oxygen. He choked on the powder with tears and nasal discharge streaming down his face at the same time. Mr. Kong was in such pain that his entire body became distorted.

Toward the end of Mr. Kong Xiangzhu's imprisonment he became stick-thin from the torture. Each rib was visible as his weight dropped from 130 pounds to around 80 pounds. When he lost consciousness from torture, there would still be shackles on his legs.

Mr. Kong Xiangzhu was a resident of Jianshan District of Shuangyashan City. He grew up in a very poor family. Before practicing Falun Gong, he had many health problems, including hematuria (blood in the urine). He was unable to do any type of work and could only lie down. Numerous attempts to treat him were unsuccessful. After he began practicing Falun Dafa when he was 28, he became healthy, his body strengthened, and he was finally able to fulfill his filial duties to his parents.

After the CCP began persecuting Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, Mr. Kong went to Beijing to appeal three times. He was also arrested three times. The first time, he was detained in Beijing for a month. Because he didn't cooperate with the persecutors, he was tortured to the brink of death before being released. The second time, he was taken to Tahe County, Heilongjiang Province. Mr. Kong didn't cooperate with the injustice and was released after a month. Mr. Kong walked from Tahe County to Shuangyashan City, a distance of over 300 miles, "clarifying the truth" about Falun Dafa to everyone along the way. The third time Mr. Kong was arrested in Beijing, the police ordered his family to come to Beijing to take him home. His family members said that Mr. Kong had committed no crime, the police had no reason to arrest him, and that they had no money to go to Beijing. Mr. Kong was then released.

On the night of May 1, 2002, police from the vice squad in Shuangyashan City tricked Mr. Kong Xiangzhu into meeting them at a construction site, only to arrest him on the charge of interrupting a cable television broadcast with Falun Gong truth clarification footage. The next day, Mr. Kong's family received a call that notified them that Mr. Kong was in a hospital for emergency treatment. When the family members arrived at the hospital, Mr. Kong had already been taken into surgery. His entire body was bruised, his back was burned from electric batons and his neck area was badly injured.

In June 2006, Mr. Kong Xiangzhu developed tubercular meningitis from the torture at the Tenth Division in Mudanjiang Prison and fell unconscious numerous times. In July 2006, after receiving medical treatment outside the prison for a period of time, his condition didn't improve. He was unable to move his lower body, he wasn't able to take care of his bodily functions and he was absent-minded. Mr. Kong was in critical condition.

Mr. Kong's family requested his release numerous times, but the prison authorities seemed to put no value on human lives. They didn't care whether practitioners lived or died. They had families complete applications for release on bail to seek medical treatment, but there was no word on the applications after several months. After ten months of effort by family members, the Mudanjiang Prison finally released Mr. Kong after extorting 5,000 yuan from the family. However, Mr. Kong Xiangzhu was extremely emaciated and unconscious at the time of his release. After two more months of suffering, Mr. Kong passed away at 10:00 p.m. on June 23, 2007.

Since July 20, 1999, at least 16 practitioners who didn't give up their belief in Truth-Compassion-Forbearance have been persecuted to death in Shuangyashan City, according to reports from local people. This number only includes people with confirmed names, and does not include the deaths that couldn't be verified. The deceased practitioners are Ms. Wu Lingxia, Mr. Liu Jinshan, Ms. Yin Ling, Mr. Ji Songshan, Ms. Guo Huailing, Mr. Li Ruqing, Mr. Pan Xingfu, Mr. Liu Guoyu, Mr. Cui Longzhi, Mr. Yu Zhixian, Mr. Li Fengwen, Mr. Kong Xiangzhu, Mr. Wu Yueqing, Ms. Yu Fengchun, Mr. Shan Zhenchang and Ms. Dai Xiaoling.

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