(Minghui.org) On my way to buy groceries in 2005, I saw Yong, a former police officer. He was so happy to see me.

He said, “Because of you, my superiors forced me to retire in my early 50s instead of 60. It turned out to be a good thing, though, because I did really well after I retired. I bought a car and built a house, and my business is booming.”

I was happy for him and said, “You were rewarded for your good deed! You refused to persecute a Falun Dafa practitioner, so you were rewarded!”

“Indeed, I was,” he agreed.

Our story goes back to September 2002, a few months before the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 16th National Congress. The CCP often uses important political events as an excuse to harass and arrest the practitioners to “ensure the safety of the event.” The local police station launched a wave of persecution, and the officers began to harass and arrest practitioners.

There was a knock on my door one morning, and I opened it and saw officer Yong. He came in and asked if I still practiced Falun Dafa and was I going to Beijing to protest?

I replied, “Yes, I do. And everyone is allowed to go to Beijing.”

He didn’t respond but made a call.

“Chief, I’m hungry. Let’s go eat first,” Yong said, and I realized that the police chief was waiting for him to arrest me and bring me downstairs. The chief said on the phone that he was coming upstairs. But he didn’t make it because he broke the car door as he tried to shut it. Yong told me that they’d be back and left. He actually bought me some time. I quickly transferred my Falun Dafa books to a safe place and stayed away from home.

That evening, Yong and the police chief came looking for me. When my family let them in, the chief searched the place and found a copy of Zhuan Falun, the book of Falun Dafa’s main teaching. Yong just sat quietly and didn’t do anything. The chief refused to leave and intended to wait until I got home. Not knowing they would still be there, I called home. They traced the call and found and arrested me.

At the police station, the chief interrogated me. When he asked if I still practiced Falun Dafa, I replied, “Because I practice, I have recovered from several incurable conditions, so, yes, I do.”

When he asked if I planned to go to Beijing, I said, “Beijing is the capital. Why can’t I go there?”

He threatened me, saying that if a practitioner was killed during an interrogation, no questions would be asked and the death would be classified as suicide. He told me that he’d bankrupt me if I continued to practice. The interrogation went on until midnight. Yong did not participate.

The next day, they took me to the criminal brigade and showed me different instruments of torture, trying to intimidate me. Then they took me to a detention center. After three months, I remained a steadfast practitioner. Seeing that they had no hope of “transforming” me, the authorities made my family pay 2,000 yuan and released me.

Yong’s refusal to participate in persecuting me upset the police chief. Yong was punished by being forced to retire early. However, his punishment was an opportunity for him to get into a good business and made him a great fortune. I believe that was his reward for protecting a Falun Dafa practitioner.