(Minghui.org) A Dashiqiao City resident was tried on December 9 for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime.

Ms. Sun Shenghua was arrested on June 28, 2016 and had recently started a hunger strike at Yingkou Detention Center to protest the illegal detention.

Her five-year-old grandson, who had been waiting outside with other family members for more than two hours, was eager to hug his grandma when Ms. Sun was brought to the courthouse. The little boy was scolded by a bailiff and hid behind his mother. The court relented when Ms. Sun protested and allowed her to have a brief meeting with her family before the session began.

Ms. Sun had no lawyer and testified in her own defense. She told everyone how Falun Gong had restored her health and taught her to be a good person. She emphasized that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong and that the persecution has lacked legal basis from the onset.

The judge adjourned the hearing without issuing a verdict. Ms. Sun refused to sign the court proceedings.

This is not the first time that Ms. Sun has been targeted for her faith. She had been arrested three times before.

She was first arrested on September 14, 1999, and detained more than 10 days.

Her second arrest took place on February 28, 2002. She suffered multiple fractures while trying to escape by jumping out of a second-floor window. The police caught her and denied her food and water that day. They gave her two years of forced labor, but the labor camp refused to admit her, citing her severe injuries. The police kept her captive for 23 more days before releasing her.

Ms. Sun was arrested again in early 2006 and given one year of forced labor. The police released her when her husband protested the illegal detention.