(Minghui.org) A woman in Laizhou City, Shandong Province, was sentenced to three years and fined 10,000 yuan on November 8, 2023 for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Zhao Xiping was arrested on the early morning of May 11, 2023, after being reported for distributing Falun Gong informational materials in neighboring Pingdu City (about 27 miles away). The Huibu Police Station in Pingdu City confiscated the over 2,000 yuan of banknotes she had with her. The banknotes were printed with Falun Gong messages as a way to raise awareness of the persecution of Falun Gong.
Eight officers from the Huibu Police Station raided Ms. Zhao’s home at around 10:30 a.m. that day. They jumped in from a window and turned her home upside down. They seized her computer, printer, printing supplies, and Falun Gong books. They also climbed to her roof to remove the satellite dish she used to receive uncensored information from overseas media.
Ms. Zhao was first taken to the Chengyang Detention Center in Pingdu City, before being moved to the Qingdao City Second Detention Center. Qingdao oversees Pingdu City.
The Huangdao District Court in Qingdao City held a hearing of Ms. Zhao’s case at the detention center on November 8, 2023. The presiding judge sentenced her to three years with a 10,000-yuan fine in less than 20 minutes.
Husband Scammed
Eager to get her out, Ms. Zhao’s husband hired a lawyer shortly after her arrest, at the recommendation of a relative who worked in the local police department. The lawyer called him three times demanding 350,000 yuan in total without providing any legal counsel.
The lawyer demanded 200,000 yuan the first time and said that he needed the money to bribe the police and other relevant agencies in order to secure Ms. Zhao’s release. She remained detained after her husband borrowed the hefty sum to give to the lawyer.
The lawyer then called Ms. Zhao’s husband again, asking for another 100,000 yuan. She was still in custody, and he demanded an additional 50,000 yuan from her husband during the third phone call. This time, her husband had no one to borrow money from (he had utilized all possible help from his relatives and friends to pool the initial 300,000 yuan). The only solution would be to sell his house.
With no more money coming in, the lawyer stopped calling Ms. Zhao’s husband. She was soon indicted and sentenced.
Ms. Zhao’s husband never got to meet the lawyer in person as the latter had an assistant receive him in the office both times when he brought the money there. The assistant refused to issue a receipt or reveal which government agencies the money would go to.
To this day, Ms. Zhao’s husband does not know the lawyer’s name (it’s unclear why his relative did not tell him the name in the first place). He is struggling to pay back the 300,000 yuan debt on top of his wife’s 10,000 yuan court fine. With no money, he is also unable to take legal action against the scammer lawyer.
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