Wife Dies in Fear While Husband Serves Time for Their Shared Faith

(Minghui.org) Although Ms. Ma Ying was released on bail and spared from being sentenced following her arrest nearly two years ago, she didn’t escape the constant police harassment and their continued attempts to prosecute her. In deep distress and fear, the 54-year-old resident in Jilin City, Jilin Province passed away on April 26, 2021, while her husband was still serving time.

The couple’s ordeal dated back to July 19, 2019, when they were arrested for their shared faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Led by Wang Chaoyue, the deputy chief of Huapochang Town Police Station, seven officers knocked on the couple’s door at 6:20 a.m. Upon entering, one officer waved his police ID quickly and put it away without allowing them to see his name. A guest at the couple’s home, Ms. Gai Suqin, also a Falun Gong practitioner, was arrested as well.

When Ms. Ma’s husband, Mr. Zhang Yong, refused to cooperate with the police, they handcuffed him behind his back and shackled him. The couple’s Falun Gong books, two laptops, one desktop, several debit cards, as well as their IDs and household registration forms were confiscated.

While taking the couple to the Changyi District Police Department for interrogation, the police covered their heads with black plastic bags, making it hard for them to breathe.

When Mr. Zhang refused to tell the police what he knew about other Falun Gong practitioners, officers force-fed him with mustard oil and handcuffed and shackled him. Ms. Ma didn’t say anything either and was also handcuffed. The handcuffs were so tight that both her and her husband’s hands became purple.

Ms. Ma was later released on bail due to her health condition. Mr. Zhang was taken to the Jilin City Detention Center. Ms. Gai was interrogated at the local police station of her residence and also taken to the Jilin City Detention Center later on.

Mr. Zhang was later sentenced to three years by the Chuanying District Court. He was transferred to the Gongzhuling Prison in December 2020. Ms. Gai stood trial on June 2, 2020. It’s not clear whether she has been sentenced.

After Ms. Ma was released, the police constantly harassed and intimidated her. On July 17, 2020, a year after her arrest, deputy police chief Wang returned with a group of officers in two police cars. Some of them went upstairs and knocked on Ms. Ma’s door, while others stayed downstairs and shouted her name. The police tried to use a master key to break in and also smashed her peephole. When they failed to open the door, they threatened to smash it or hire a locksmith. The police also revealed that they were trying to submit Ms. Ma’s case to the Changyi District Procuratorate.

Living in tremendous fear and also worrying about her husband, Ms. Ma’s health declined quickly. She passed away on April 26, 2021, without seeing her husband for the last time.

Prior to the arrest in 2019, Ms. Ma was previously arrested on August 7, 2015. She was seized by police officers hiding in the hallway when she went out at around 7 a.m. After brief interrogation at the police station, the police took her back at 10 a.m. and ransacked her home.

After losing contact with her for two days, Ms. Ma’s sister went to her place to check on her. She was shocked to find Ms. Ma’s residence a mess after the police raid and her desktop and laptop were gone. The police later informed her that Ms. Ma was given 15 days of detention for filing a criminal complaint against Jiang Zemin, the former head of the Chinese Communist Party who ordered the persecution of Falun Gong.

Ms. Ma’s family later found out she was arrested by officers from the Xin’an Police Station and that one of the officers was named Xing Guoyou. In order to arrest Ms. Ma, the police had been on a lookout for her near her apartment since the previous afternoon.

Related report:

Updates on Five Jilin Residents Arrested Last Year for Practicing Falun Gong