(Minghui.org) Four Mianyang City, Sichuan Province residents arrested on the same day last year were sentenced to prison in August and September 2020, respectively, for their faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Below are the details of their cases.
Mr. Deng Chengkai and Ms. Liu Tao
Mr. Deng Chengkai was arrested on July 20, 2019, while buying office supplies to make informational materials about Falun Gong. Another practitioner who went with him, Ms. Liu Tao, an IT professional, was also arrested.
Eight plainclothes officers drove four police cars to Mr. Deng’s home and searched his place from morning to 3 p.m. His Falun Gong books, a laptop, a tablet, media players and other personal belongings were confiscated. The police also took pictures of his debit cards and his home before taking down his home security camera.
Mr. Deng was detained in the Santai County Detention Center and Ms. Liu was held in the Mianyang City Detention Center. Both of them were tried by the Santai County Court on August 10, 2020, and sentenced to 4.5 years with a 2,000-yuan fine each.
Prior to their latest sentences, Ms. Liu was given three years of forced labor in November 1999 for talking to people about Falun Gong. She was whipped by inmates for doing Falun Gong exercises in the Sanshui Forced Labor Camp in Guangdong Province. She was arrested again on June 22, 2009 after moving to Mianyang and sentenced to six years a year later. She was beaten, forced to wear handcuffs and shackles, held in solitary confinement and deprived of sleep in Sichuan Women’s Prison.
Mr. Deng was given one and two years of forced labor in September 2001 and May 2003, respectively. He was sentenced to eight years in March 2010.
Ms. Liao Guanghui and Ms. Song Yuhua
A dozen plainclothes officers broke into Ms. Liao Guanghui’s home on the afternoon of July 20, 2019. They restrained her and her family members and ransacked her residence for three hours without a search warrant. Officers confiscated Ms. Liao’s Falun Gong books, photo of Falun Gong’s founder, cellphone, two laptops, printer, DVD burner, and several hundred yuan in cash.
Ms. Liao and the other practitioner arrested on the same day, Ms. Song Yuhua, 78, were held at the Mianyang City Detention Center. Ms. Song was released on bail on March 27, 2020.
Both Ms. Liao and Ms. Song appeared in the Fucheng District Court on September 1, 2020.
On September 25, 2020, the judge sentenced Ms. Liao to three years with a 3,000-yuan fine and Ms. Song to three years with four years’ probation and a 2,000-yuan fine. It’s not clear whether it was a joint trial or separate trials.
Related reports:
Mr. Deng Chengkai and Ms. Liu Tao Subjected to Heavy Sentencing
