(Minghui.org) An Anshun City, Guizhou Province, resident served a three-year prison term for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999. Mr. Liu Kangfu was released in May 2023 to find that he had been fired from his job and without a household registration book. He struggled to make ends meet but was still urged to pay the remaining 10,000 yuan of his 310,000-yuan court fine.
Mr. Liu’s sentencing stemmed from his arrest in May 2020 by the Xixiu District Domestic Security Office. While he was in custody, the police did not allow him to use the restroom for long hours, causing him to become incontinent. He became very weak, with a fuzzy memory. He couldn’t stand up at one point.
The police drove Mr. Liu to the Anshun City Second Detention Center the day after his arrest, but he was denied admission, so he was taken to the Anshun City Rehabilitation Hospital (a police hospital). Mr. Liu was found to have severe diabetes upon admission. During his detention at the hospital, he was also found to have a heart disease and high blood pressure (with a systolic reading of 220 mmHg with a healthy range being no more than 120 mmHg). He needed to use the restroom every 10-15 minutes. He reported that he was issued a critical condition notice five times.
The Xixiu District Procuratorate issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Liu in July 2020. Prosecutor Luo Peng (+86-851-38102217) said that he’d recommend two years with a 30,000-yuan fine if Mr. Liu signed a statement admitting his “guilt.” Luo threatened to recommend six years with a 310,000-yuan fine if Mr. Liu did not comply.
Mr. Liu refused to admit any guilt, as he had broken no law by practicing Falun Gong. He stood trial at the Xixiu District Court in May 2021 and was sentenced to three years with a 310,000-yuan fine in mid-November 2021. Judge Qin Zhigang (+86-851-33508970) ruled to seize the 300,000-yuan in cash that the arresting officers found in Mr. Liu’s home and ordered him to pay the remaining 10,000-yuan after he finished serving time.
Mr. Liu couldn’t believe that the communist regime’s court would rob his lifetime savings of 300,000 yuan to pay court fines. He vowed to appeal, but prosecutor Luo threatened to increase his sentence to eight years and court fine to 500,000 yuan if he did so. He was scared and did not file an appeal.
Mr. Liu was admitted to Duyun Prison in February 2022. One month later he was moved to Division Six to face intensive brainwashing aimed forcing him to renounce his faith. He was monitored by three inmates around the clock.
Mr. Liu was moved to a different division in August 2022, to do hard labor. His job involved sewing leather balls. His hands were often pricked by the needles. Because of his diabetes, the wounds were very difficult to heal, and often festered.
Mr. Liu got infected during an outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2023. His left lung was severely damaged and his right lung was also affected to some extent. He also suffered from pleural effusion. After two months of treatment in the prison hospital, he was sent back to Division Six, where he spent half a day “studying” (i.e., being forced to read/watch anti-Falun Gong materials) and half a day doing hard labor without pay.
Mr. Liu was released in May 2023 and learned that his employer, the Guiyang City Passenger Rail Transportation, had fired him. The local police in Nanming District, where he resides, told him to transfer his household registration book to Xixiu District, where he was arrested. [In China, local police stations handle household registration books and are responsible for monitoring Falun Gong practitioners in their jurisdictions.] The Nanming police likely wanted to avoid dealing with Mr. Liu so they kicked him to their counterpart in Xixiu District.
Mr. Liu submitted his household registration book and the transfer request to the Huaxi Police Station in Xixiu District. Several months have since passed but the police station still has not returned his household registration book.
Without household registration, Mr. Liu has been unable to apply for low-income subsidy or find a new job. He struggles to make ends meet, yet the court is still urging him to pay the remaining 10,000 yuan of his fine.
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