(Minghui.org) A 57-year-old resident of Xintai City, Shandong Province, was arrested on February 26, 2024 for distributing Falun Gong informational materials about 14 months ago. Ms. Zhu Fengling was released on bail the night of her arrest and is now facing prosecution.
Arrested While Walking Mother Home
Ms. Zhu, who lives in Beimazhuang Village, Xintai City, received a phone call from a village official around 10 a.m. on February 26, 2024. He informed her that higher-ups would come to talk to her. She knew that the police must be coming at her again for practicing Falun Gong, so she decided to walk her mother, who happened to be visiting at the time, back home.
On the way to her mother’s home, Ms. Zhu and her mother were intercepted by Zhang Xinde (head of the Xintai City 610 Office), officers Chen Feng and Han Jizhong from the Xintai City Domestic Security Office, and an unidentified woman.
Chen and Han grabbed Ms. Zhu’s purse and seized the one Falun Gong book and a music player she had in it. Her mother pleaded with the police, “Please do not arrest my daughter again! You all know her two children—one is disabled and the other is in middle-school, and they need her!”
The police ignored the older woman’s plea and took Ms. Zhu back to raid her home. When they did not find what they wanted they took her to the Beishi Police Station in Xintai City.
Targeted in a December 2022 Incident
During the interrogation, the police revealed that they targeted Ms. Zhu because of her prior arrest on December 6, 2022. She was reported for distributing Falun Gong informational materials in nearby Yanmazhuang Village, Longting Town, Xintai City. The tipsters were Zhu Feng (secretary of Yanmazhuang Village) and villager Wang Ping.
The Longting Town Police Station turned Ms. Zhu over to the Xintai City Domestic Security Office. Captain Feng Dayong released her on bail that night, but he and his officers harassed her twice in August 2023.
Officer Chen asked Ms. Zhu her opinion of Falun Gong following her latest arrest and she said the practice taught its students to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to be good people. A young officer said she should stop practicing Falun Gong for the sake of her two children.
Ms. Zhu replied that it was Falun Gong that gave her and her husband, Mr. Yu Mingbao, good health to take care of their children. The couple took up Falun Gong in January 1999 when their then 10-month-old son was always sick. The boy was born with some medical conditions and the doctor warned that he would not be able to walk. His condition improved after Ms. Zhu and her husband started practicing Falun Gong. The couple also recovered from their own illnesses, including Ms. Zhu’s stomach and gynecological diseases and Mr. Yu’s rhinitis and nail fungus.
Released on Bail
After the interrogation, officers Chen and Han drove Ms. Chen to the Xintai City Hospital for a physical examination. She was found to have high blood pressure. The two officers nonetheless took her to the Tai’an City Detention Center. She asked why she was not being taken to the Beishi Detention Center in Xintai City, and they said it no longer accepted female inmates since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The in-house doctor at the Tai’an City Detention Center reviewed Ms. Zhu’s physical examination results and was shocked to see her high blood pressure readings. He then asked to talk to Chen alone in a different room.
While waiting for Chen to come back, Ms. Zhu urged Han to stop persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. He did not say a word.
After a long conversation with the detention center doctor, Chen came back to say they’d take Ms. Zhu back to the Beishi Police Station. While driving back, Chen and Han discussed among themselves and decided to fine Ms. Zhu 5,000 yuan since the detention center refused to admit her. They called her husband Mr. Yu and ordered him to report to the Beishi Police Station.
The couple were forced to sign and fingerprint Ms. Zhu’s bail release notice. They said they did not have money to pay the 5,000 yuan bail bond. Chen and Han then demanded the couple pay Ms. Zhu’s physical examination fee of 540 yuan. Mr. Yu said he forgot to bring any cash as he rushed to report to the police station. Chen and Han let the couple go but ordered them to bring the 540 yuan the next day. It was unclear whether the couple paid the money.
It was already dark by the time Ms. Zhu and her husband returned home on February 26, 2024. An unfamiliar number (+86-538-7103065) called Mr. Yu’s cell phone a few times after that. He did not answer and later learned it was the office phone number of captain Feng of the Xintai City Domestic Security Office.
Now Facing Prosecution
On March 14, 2024, two officers from the Beishi Police Station showed up at Ms. Zhu’s home and asked if she knew that her case was submitted to the Feicheng City Procuratorate, which has been designated to handle Falun Gong cases in the region. She said no one told her about it. They ordered her to sign some paperwork and she refused. They left.
This is not the first time that Ms. Zhu and her husband have been targeted for practicing Falun Gong. Back on October 21, 2020, the same 610 Office head, Zhang, borrowed a ladder to scale the fence at the couple’s yard and broke into their home when no one was around. Someone took the ladder and Zhang ended up purchasing a new ladder to return to the lender. The lender later told Ms. Zhu that he would have never lent his ladder to Zhang if he knew they were going to raid her home. The ladder owner also complained that the replacement ladder Zhang gave him was of poor quality. For details of this incident and other past persecution episodes, see the following related report.
Related Report:
Xintai City, Shandong Province: Five Arrested and Six Harassed for Their Faith in Two Days
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