(Minghui.org) The Minghui.org website recently confirmed that a 75-year-old Chongqing woman was sentenced to one and a half years with a 3,000-yuan fine on September 22, 2023, for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Peng Dongjun, who had been out on bail, refused to sign the verdict and was allowed to go home. Her neighbors, however, haven’t seen her since last September and her friends have lost contact with her. It is unclear whether she was taken back into custody to serve time or she had been forced to go into hiding to avoid being put in jail.
Ms. Peng’s ordeal stemmed from her initial arrest on February 17, 2023, after she was reported for giving someone Falun Gong informational materials. A group of plainclothes officers and two community officers broke into her home after 2 p.m. that day and confiscated her Falun Gong books, wallet, cell phone, 199 yuan in cash, and other valuables. She was taken to the Tongliang District Police Department for interrogation, before being moved to the Dongcheng Police Station. Police chief Wang Xi submitted her case to the Tongliang District Procuratorate. An officer surnamed Leng with a badge number of 206130 was later tasked with handling her case.
Ms. Peng was transferred to the Quande School (a juvenile detention center) on February 18, 2023. Ten days later she was taken to the Tongliang District Police Station for interrogation again. The police put her under house arrest. She refused to sign the paperwork but was allowed to go home after the interrogation.
Two officers deceived Ms. Peng into reporting to them on April 14, 2023, and took her straight to the Tongliang District Procuratorate. A female prosecutor deposed her, and she refused to sign any paperwork. The prosecutor soon forwarded her case to the Jiangbei District Procuratorate. Ms. Chen was deposed at the latter procuratorate on May 10, 2023 and she again refused to sign her case file when ordered by prosecutor Liu Yi.
The Jiangbei District Court delivered a court notice to Ms. Peng on July 19, 2023, informing her that she was set to stand trial on August 9. They then took her to the Tongliang District People’s Hospital for a physical examination. She was found to have a heart disease but the court bailiff still took her to the Chongqing Second Detention Center. She was denied admission there due to her health condition, and then sent home.
Ms. Peng submitted her defense statement and other materials to the court before her trial. During her hearing on August 9, 2023, she reiterated the fact that no law in China has ever criminalized Falun Gong. Judge Liu Yi (who happened to share the same name as the prosecutor) stopped her. She was allowed to go home after the trial.
Two officers, Weng Jinwei and Song (first name unknown), took Ms. Peng to the court on September 22, 2023, to receive her verdict, which she refused to sign. The court clerk asked the police to sign on her behalf after seeking instruction from higher-ups.
The police drove Ms. Peng home after signing her verdict. She has since not been heard from. Prior to her latest ordeal, Ms. Peng had previously been arrested multiple times and brutally tortured in detention. See the related reports for details of her past persecution.
Third Arrest of Ms. Peng Dongjun from Tongliang County, Chongqing