(Minghui.org) It’s recently confirmed by Minghui.org that a 77-year-old retired teacher in Shifang City, Sichuan Province was given one year probation in May 2022 for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Chen Rongfang was arrested in November 2021 after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong. Wang Xiaobin, the chief of the Yongcheng Police Station, forced her husband, who doesn’t practice Falun Gong, to turn in her Falun Gong books. She was interrogated at the police station and then released on bail. 

The Shifang City Court held a hearing of Ms. Chen’s case in mid-May 2022 and sentenced her to one year of probation with a 3,000-yuan fine. Due to her poor financial situation, the judge decreased the fine to 1,000 yuan. She was ordered to report to the local justice bureau and sign certain documents every month while on probation.

Prior to her latest sentencing, Ms. Chen was arrested another time on May 14, 2015 while distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. She was sentenced to three years in prison.

When her family visited her at the Sichuan Province Women’s Prison, they noted that she was emaciated. The joints in her fingers were severely swollen and she was unable to bend her fingers, except slight movement in her right thumb and index finger. Despite her condition, the prison guards still forced her to work without pay. She was released on May 13, 2018. 

The authorities harassed Ms. Chen around November 2020. She was forced to sign a statement renouncing Falun Gong, after being threatened to have her pension suspended.