(Minghui.org) Ms. Bao Guiqin was no longer the same person when she completed a five-year prison sentence in November 2025 for her faith in Falun Gong. She suffered from severe mental disorders, was incoherent, and often sat holding a slipper and muttering to herself.
The 71-year-old retired elementary school teacher in Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province, had been brutally tortured at the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison. She became paralyzed and was unable to care for herself, but the prison authorities refused to release her on parole. One guard even said no one would help take care of her as long as she still held firm to her faith.
Family Torn Apart
Several officers from the Hongbaoshi Police Station arrested Ms. Bao on April 19, 2020, when she visited another Falun Gong practitioner. Upon finding her daughter, Ms. Zhuang Ziyi’s address in her wallet, the police broke into Ms. Zhuang’s home, pinned her husband, Mr. Feng Hao, to the ground, and raided the place. They confiscated all of their Falun Gong-related items, as well as their MP3s, computers, printers, other office supplies, and 276,000 yuan in cash.
Ms. Zhuang and Mr. Feng were taken to the Fularji District Police Department the next day for interrogation. Mr. Feng was tied to the radiator in the cafeteria, where there was no surveillance camera, and beaten. His teeth became loose as a result. The police took off his shoes and socks and whipped his feet with a belt buckle. The couple and Ms. Bao were released on bail three days later and paid a total of 150,000 yuan in bail bonds.
The police arrested the three practitioners again on November 26, 2020, and held them in the Qiqihar City Detention Center. Mr. Feng’s parents and his sister, Ms. Feng Hui, were arrested and had their homes raided by officers from the Yanjiang Police Station that same day. Mr. Feng’s parents were released after 15 days of detention with a 1,000-yuan fine each. Her sister was forced to sign a statement to renounce Falun Gong after the police threatened not to allow her child to attend school if she didn’t comply. She was ordered to pay a 1,000-yuan bail bond.
The arrests took place shortly after Xu Bin took office as secretary of the Fularji District Political and Legal Affairs Committee, which is an extra-judiciary agency tasked with overseeing the persecution of Falun Gong. Ordered by Xu, the district government staff, residential committee staff members, and the police intensified the arrests and harassment of local practitioners.
The family’s incarceration left Ms. Bao’s husband, who had been struggling with mild mental illness, in a dire situation. His condition worsened without his family’s care. His body was found in a water ditch by the roadside on September 1, 2021. The specific cause and time of his death are unknown.
Ms. Bao, Ms. Zhuang, and Mr. Feng were sentenced to prison at the end of September 2021. Ms. Bao received five years. Her daughter and son-in-law were each given two years. Prior to her latest sentencing, Ms. Bao had been arrested, detained, and given a one-year labor camp term for her faith.
Tortured in Prison
Ms. Bao was taken to Heilongjiang Women’s Prison at the end of 2021. Right after she was taken to her cell in the 8th Division after one month at the training ward, lead inmate Wang Shu threw away some of her personal items and forced her to sleep on the floor, despite the bitter cold weather. Wang took away the new bedding that Ms. Bao had been given and gave her a thin, used blanket.
Since Ms. Bao refused to renounce Falun Gong, the inmates often beat her in the restroom, washroom, or warehouse. They also forced her to sit on a small stool for a long period of time, and sometimes deprived her of sleep.
Later, whenever Ms. Bao was slow in doing things or did not do things well, the inmates forced her to sit still on the small stool all day except when she had to use the toilet. While sitting, Ms. Bao had to keep her body straight, her legs together, and her hands on her knees. The stool was extremely low and had an uneven surface. The inmates kept a close eye on Ms. Bao and beat her if she moved even a little.
Inmate Wang Shumin, who is serving a life sentence, was assigned to monitor and torture Ms. Bao. She often slapped Ms. Bao so hard that the other inmates feared she might kill her.
All inmates are rewarded for persecuting Falun Gong practitioners, including being granted sentence reductions, phone and letters privileges, family visits, and various material prizes.
One day in March 2022, Wang had a conversation with the prison officials and found out that they did not give her the prison term reduction as promised. She became furious and vented her anger on Ms. Bao, slapping her face from both the left and right. Ms. Bao almost fell to the ground.
The guards never bothered to discipline those who tortured Ms. Bao. Instead, they rewarded the perpetrators in various forms, including term reduction, more phone calls with their families, and prizes.
Ms. Bao became paralyzed but was denied parole. The guards also did not arrange for anyone to help take care of her because she refused to renounce Falun Gong.
Related Report:
Sentenced with Her Daughter and Son-in-law, 68-Year-Old Woman Tortured in Prison
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Category: Torture of Women
