(Minghui.org) A Chongqing woman secretly sentenced for her faith in Falun Gong is experiencing serious health problems and is still denied family visits by the prison authorities.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Around late August or early September 2019, Ms. Peng Shibi, a 69-year-old retired kindergarten teacher, went to the local Hualongqiao Police Station to deliver Falun Gong-related materials and urge the officers not to participate in the persecution of Falun Gong.
Though the police didn't arrest her on the spot, they ransacked her home hours later when she was not at home. After her son notified Ms. Peng of the house raid, she went to a relative’s home to evade arrest, but was still located by the police who tracked her cellphone and arrested her on September 7, 2019.
Ms. Peng’s family was kept in the dark about her case status after her arrest. In June 2020, upon learning that the procuratorate had returned her case twice due to insufficient evidence, they went to the Hualongqiao Police Station to demand her release. The officer who received them initially attempted to turn them away, but later relented and allowed one of them to meet with the police station’s director.
Xia Jiong, the deputy police director, said that Ms. Peng’s case would be closed soon. He threatened to arrest Ms. Peng’s family member when the latter defended Falun Gong.
Ms. Peng was later secretly sentenced and transferred from the Caijia Detention Center to the Chongqing Women’s Prison in early September 2020. Her family didn’t know when she was tried or how long her prison term is.
Ms. Peng is currently experiencing dangerously high blood pressure and has a heart condition, yet the prison authorities have still blocked her family from visiting her.
Prior to her latest term, Ms. Peng was given a term at Chongqing Women’s Forced Labor Camp following her arrest on September 17, 2008.
She was arrested again on January 26, 2013 for talking to people about Falun Gong, and was sentenced to three years on July 17, 2013. Her appeal was rejected by the Chongqing Intermediate Court.
Ms. Peng was subjected to intensive torture at the Chongqing Women’s Prison. Her term was extended by a month. She returned home on July 25, 2015.
While Ms. Peng was serving time, her younger brother, Mr. Peng Shigui, was arrested on September 6, 2013, also for practicing Falun Gong. After his wife, Ms. Yao Hong, was forced to live away from home to avoid the constant police harassment, the siblings’ elderly mother, who was mentally ill, was left at home alone and struggled to take care of herself.
Related reports:
Brother and Sister Detained in Chongqing
Sister and Brother Detained, Sick Elderly Mother Left on Her Own
