(Minghui.org) Two siblings in Gongzhuling City, Jilin Province, were arrested in August 2024 for their shared faith in Falun Gong. The 68-year-old sister died in custody one month later and her 81-year-old brother was sentenced to five years in prison in June 2025.
Mr. Wang Jianying, a retired government employee, was arrested by officers from the Xiangshui Town Police Station on August 7, 2024. His sister, Ms. Wang Yuying, was seized by Fanjiatun Town Police Station officers a day later. Both of their homes were ransacked. After 15 days at the Gongzhuling City Lockup, they were transferred to the Gongzhuling City Detention Center.
Around September 20, 2024, Ms. Wang died in the detention center. The authorities offered her family 30,000 yuan in exchange for their silence regarding her suspicious death. Her loved ones consulted a lawyer and were told that no one could help them win a lawsuit as the police would block all channels if they tried to collect evidence. Her family also realized that even if there were witnesses who saw Ms. Wang’s abuse and death, they probably wouldn’t dare to speak up. It’s unclear, though, whether the family accepted the hush-money offer.
Mr. Wang was released on bail around September 24, 2024 after his sister’s funeral. The police continued to harass him on a regular basis. They also installed a surveillance camera at their neighbor’s home, facing Mr. Wang’s front door.
The police submitted Mr. Wang’s case to the local procuratorate. He was taken to the local court in a wheelchair on June 5, 2025. He acted as his own lawyer and entered a not guilty plea. Days later, the court held a virtual sentencing hearing and gave him five years.
Officers from the Xiangshui Town Police Station took Mr. Wang to the Gongzhuling City Prison on July 1, 2025, after he passed the physical examination. His 75-year-old wife is now left at home to fend her herself, as their only son died in 2023.
Prior to his latest sentencing, Mr. Wang was arrested in 2001 and held at a detention center for two years. After he was released, his workplace fired him because he refused to renounce Falun Gong. He was arrested again in 2004 and detained at the Chaoyanggou Detention Center for two and a half years. After another arrest in July 2015, Mr. Wang was sentenced to five years. He was subjected to brutal torture while serving time at the Jilin Prison.