(Minghui.org) A 59-year-old resident of Maoming City, Guangdong Province was sentenced to four years with a 15,000-yuan fine on July 28, 2023, for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Mr. Lin Wu, a retired sailor of China Cosco Shipping Corporation Limited, Guangdong Branch, was arrested on August 14, 2020 and made two court appearances at the Maoming City First Detention Center, on May 17 and July 28, 2023, respectively.
During both hearings, the presiding judge had an ambulance on standby, as Mr. Lin had been tortured to the point of suffering chest pain, high blood pressure, numbness in his fingers, and dizziness. He was driven away right after his sentencing hearing on July 28, and his lawyer suspected the bailiff took him to a hospital.
Mr. Lin is not the only one in his family targeted for practicing Falun Gong. His wife, Ms. Li Suzhen, died as a result of the persecution years ago. Mr. Lin raised their four children all by himself.
Two Court Hearings
The Maonan District Court held a hearing of Mr. Lin’s case at the detention center on May 17, 2023. Because of Mr. Lin’s high blood pressure and other medical conditions, presiding judge Tan Wei (who is also the vice president of the court) ordered an ambulance to be on standby.
Mr. Lin’s two lawyers entered a not guilty plea for him and refuted prosecutor Yu Huadan’s allegations against him, namely, “using a cult organization to undermine law enforcement,” the standard pretext used by the communist regime to frame and imprison Falun Gong practitioners.
The lawyers emphasized that no enacted law in China has ever criminalized Falun Gong. They also pointed out that the police, the procuratorate, and the court had all violated legal procedures in arresting and prosecuting their client. They demanded Mr. Lin’s acquittal.
Judge Tan and his assistant judges, including Ke Xuejun and Pan Chuanghua, kept interrupting the lawyers as they were presenting their defense statements. One of the lawyers expressed that he’d file a complaint against Tan, Ke, and Pan. He also insisted that clerk Gong Yanfen record the defense statements and the judges’ interruption of the lawyers in the court proceedings.
Tan ignored the lawyers and held a sentencing hearing on July 28, 2023. Mr. Lin’s two daughters were the only family members allowed to attend. As soon as they entered the detention center, they were followed by seven plainclothes agents, who blocked them from taking pictures of the court proceedings. The seven agents and some other court-arranged people took up all the seats except the two reserved for Mr. Lin’s two daughters.
Despite Mr. Lin’s frail health, he was handcuffed and shackled throughout the court session. The handcuffs and shackles were also linked together, making it hard for him to straighten his body.
Mr. Lin’s two lawyers were unable to attend the sentencing hearing because of schedule conflicts.
After Judge Tan finished reading the court ruling, Mr. Lin yelled to his daughter, “Appeal! Appeal!”
The sentencing hearing ended in less than 20 minutes. Mr. Lin’s daughters saw the court bailiff put their father in a court vehicle so they asked where he’d be taken. The bailiff said, “To the detention center.” The young women were baffled, “Aren’t we at the detention center now?” The bailiff didn’t respond and drove Mr. Lin away.
Mr. Lin’s daughters called one of his lawyers and the lawyer suspected the bailiff may have taken Mr. Lin to a hospital because of his heart issue and high blood pressure. The lawyer also said that the bailiff didn’t use the ambulance on standby in order to avoid attracting the attention of other detainees.
Arrest
Mr. Lin was ambushed by two people hiding in his apartment building when he returned from grocery shopping on August 14, 2020. Thinking that they were going to rob him, he struggled and attempted to escape. Those people made a phone call and three more people showed up, who pressed Mr. Lin against the floor and took away his home key. They then ransacked his home and confiscated his Falun Gong books and other personal belongings.
Mr. Lin was taken to the local police station around noon. The police handcuffed and shackled him tightly in a rusty metal chair. They interrogated him with intimidation and verbal abuse until 2 a.m. While Mr. Lin maintained that he was a law-abiding citizen and refused to answer any questions, the police fabricated answers and filled out the interrogation record.
The police then took Mr. Lin to a local hospital for a physical examination. He had his blood drawn and an electrocardiogram, and a CT scan. The doctor found he had a severe heart condition, but the police still took him to the Maoming City No. 1 Detention Center at 4 a.m. on August 15, 2020. He was handcuffed all the time during the examination and transfer.
The police attempted to repeat the electrocardiogram on Mr. Lin the next day, but had to cancel it after he developed a fever.
Two days later, Mr. Lin was taken to the hospital for an echocardiogram and electrocardiogram. The doctor didn’t communicate with him about the results, but he was feeling tightness in his chest. He also had difficulty breathing, dizziness, and numbness in his arms and fingers.
The police took Mr. Lin back to the hospital for the same heart exams on September 14, 2020, as his symptoms persisted and his weight dropped from 143 lbs to 99 lbs in a month. But the doctor still didn’t talk to him about the results.
One day after the Maonan District Procuratorate approved his arrest on September 18, the police came to the detention center and interrogated Mr. Lin again. Mr. Lin refused to cooperate, nor did he acknowledge the fabricated answers on the interrogation record right after his arrest.
Mr. Lin’s lawyer visited him at the detention center on September 23 and then met with prosecutor Yu and police officer Fan Laibiao in charge of his case on September 24.
The lawyer urged Fan to drop the charge against Mr. Lin due to the lack of evidence. He also demanded the release of Mr. Lin, given his heart condition and high blood pressure. The lawyer emphasized that all officers will be held responsible for all the Falun Gong cases they’ve handled. When Falun Gong is vindicated one day, they would be brought to justice. Fan rejected both of his requests.
The police submitted Mr. Lin’s case to the Maonan District Procuratorate on November 17. His lawyer reviewed his case document on December 2, 2020 and also visited him at the detention center. The lawyer said Mr. Lin has lost more weight since their last meeting.
Due to the pandemic lockdown in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, Mr. Lin’s lawyer was unable to travel to Maoming to work on his case. His family hired another lawyer for him, who found out on January 26, 2021, that prosecutor Yu had indicted him earlier that month.
When the lawyer went to the Maonan District Court to review Mr. Lin’s case documents, it took him over 30 minutes to get access, as judge Ke attempted to block it.
The court initially scheduled a hearing for April 6, 2021, but later postponed it to 2023.
While Mr. Lin was awaiting trial, his four children filed complaints in August 2022 against the 19 perpetrators responsible for his case. They demanded: 1) the perpetrators be held accountable; 2) the Maonan District Procuratorate withdraw the indictment against Mr. Lin; 3) the Maoming High-tech Development Zone Police Department dismiss Mr. Lin’s case; and 4) the Maonan District Court acquit Mr. Lin.
They never received a response to their complaints.
Related Reports:
Guangdong Man Detained for His Faith—Family Files Complaints Against Key Perpetrators
Detained Despite His Heart Condition, Guangdong Man Faces Trial for Practicing Falun Gong
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