(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Tu Zhiying, a convenience store owner from Chongqing, was secretly sentenced to four years in prison on August 26, 2014. She was illegally arrested on December 31, 2013, for practicing Falun Gong. Ms. Tu's health has been deteriorating after being detained for eight months.
Ms. Tu's family has been suffering from fear and anxiety since her arrest. Her husband had to sell their store.
Illegal Arrest and Sentencing
Several officers came to Ms. Tu's store on the morning of December 31, 2013, claiming that they were from the Yunyang County Domestic Security Division.
Ms. Tu was out at the time, but her husband, Mr. Zhang Chengyou was playing the Falun Gong lectures on his MP3 player and listening with headphones. Officer Wu Yixi grabbed Mr. Zhang's headphone and listened. He then shouted loudly that he found “the evidence.” Mr. Zhang was immediately arrested.
When Ms. Tu came to the store, she was arrested as well. The police ransacked the store and confiscated a computer, a notebook, a printer, an MP3 player, Falun Gong informational materials, and 13,500 yuan in cash. They did not provide a receipt for the confiscated items.
The couple was taken to the Yunyang County Police Department. Mr. Zhang was released the next day. Ms. Tu was tried three times and sentenced to a four-year prison term.
Ms. Tu Zhiying, 59, lives at 83 Qunyi Road of Yunyang County, Chongqing. She began practicing Falun Gong in the winter of 1998.
