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Duan Shiqiong's Family Questions Chengdu Detention Center about Her Brutal Death (Clearwisdom.net) My name is Wang Zhihai. I work for Chongqing West
Maintenance Section of Chengdu Railway Bureau Chongqing Branch. One day the
security section of my work unit handed me a note from the Chengdu City Police
Department Detention Center, saying that my wife Duan Shiqiong had died on
September 16, 2003 at 3:00 p.m. The security section told me to go to Chengdu
City Police Department Detention Center to handle the details of her funeral. On
September 17, 2003, a group of us hurried to the detention center. According to a briefing from the detention center, my wife Duan Shiqiong was
taken into custody by Jinniu District Police Department of Chengdu City on
August 29, 2002. Jinniu District Court of Chengdu City sentenced her to a 7-year
jail term on June 19, 2003. She went on a hunger strike on July 25, 2003 in the
detention center. The detention center began force-feeding her through her nose
on July 28, 2003. She was admitted to a hospital for intensive care on August
11, 2003 due to physical deterioration, respiration problems with her
circulation system, and plasma electrolyte imbalance. The hospital issued a
notice of Duan Shiqiong's critical condition on September 10, 2003 to the
Chengdu City Police Department Detention Center. The detention center claimed
that it was all right not to pass on the notice to her family. Duan Shiqiong
died on September 16, 2003, at 3:00 p.m. in Qingyang District People's Hospital
of Chengdu City. Before her death, Duan Shiqiong had been in custody at Chengdu
City Police Department Detention Center. The detention center didn't once inform
her family members her situation. When I learned about my wife's death, I was in shock and could not accept it.
I knew my wife to be in good health, so how could she die so suddenly? I could
not accept the explanation given by the Chengdu Police. 1. Duan Shiqiong was sentenced to 7 years jail term by Jinniu District Court
of Chengdu City on June 19, 2003. Why is it that, as her family member, I still
have not received any legal document of any form from the court? According to
the law, after a court issues a sentence, a transcript of the sentence should be
delivered to the family members shortly afterwards. 2. Duan Shiqiong was sentenced to 7 years in jail by Jinniu District Court on
June 19, 2003. Why didn't the prosecutor inform her family members beforehand so
that they could hire lawyers to defend her in court and protect her legal
rights? 3. Since Duan Shiqiong was sentenced on June 19, 2003, so why was she still
detained in Chengdu City Police Department Detention Center? Why didn't they
allow her family to visit her? (Duan Shiqiong was held in the detention center
for one year, and her family members didn't once receive permission to visit
her.) 4. When Duan Shiqiong started her hunger strike on July 25, 2003 in Chengdu
Police Department Detention Center, why didn't the detention center inform her
family members to persuade her to stop her hunger strike? 5. When Duan Shiqiong was admitted to hospital on August 11, 2003, why didn't
Chengdu Police Department Detention Center inform her family? She was there for
almost a month. 6. When the hospital issued a critical condition notice on September 10,
2003, why did the detention center, once again, withhold the news from her
family? Why wasn't the critical condition notice ever sent to the family
members? When Duan Shiqiong was in critical condition, why did the detention
center still insist on withholding the news from her family members? What were
they trying to hide from the public? If they had any conscience, they should
have informed her family to let them pay their last visit. 7. When Duan Shiqiong died at 3:00 p.m. on September 16, 2003, the detention
center stated that since the notice was addressed to them, in their opinion the
family had no right to know what had happened. No matter what Duan Shiqiong had done, or what form of punishment was
decided, as long as she did not get a death sentence, Duan Shiqiong should have
enjoyed the right to live and to stay healthy. The detention center cannot avoid
the responsibility for her death. I hope this kind of tragedy will never happen again. Wang Zhihai October 10, 2003 * * * * * Ms. Duan Shiqiong, 34 years old, was a Dafa practitioner in Chongqing. She
was forced to leave her home in 2001 due to the persecution. Later, she was
illegally arrested by Chengdu "610 Office" and sent to Chengdu
Detention Center because she had clarified the facts of the persecution about
Falun Gong to the Chengdu public. She had repeatedly resisted the detention and
persecution with hunger strikes. Finally, the authorities caused her death on
September 16, 2003. The death was likely a result of force-feeding, which
suffocated her. Dafa practitioners dedicate themselves to cultivating their mind and body,
and improving themselves by following the principles of Falun Dafa:
"Truthfulness- Compassion-Forbearance." They have the courage to stand
up and appeal, and distribute flyers to the public telling them the facts about
the persecution. This is also to protect people's right to know the truth, which
does not violate any law. However, the illegal detention and torture of Falun
Gong practitioners by the public security departments are definitely violating
citizens' rights. Therefore, many practitioners used methods such as hunger
strikes to protest against the persecution during their detention. According to
international convention, if a person in custody goes on a hunger strike for 7
days, his request must be heard and answered. However, in China's forced labor
camps, detention centers and even hospitals, the use of brutal force-feeding has
become a standard torture method. According to the October 22 report from Falun
Dafa Information Center, out of 805 verified deaths of Falun Gong practitioners
by torture, 78 practitioners died from brutal forced-feeding by the police. January 6, 2004 Posting date: 1/24/2004 |