Police Beat Two Older Women and Attempt to Fabricate Evidence Against Them
(Minghui.org) Two women in Qinglong County, Hebei Province, were beaten by police, and their health quickly declined. Both are now being held at the Qinhuangdao City Police Hospital (Qinhuangdao oversees Qinglong County).
Front of the Qinhuangdao City Police Hospital
A close-up shot of the main entrance. The red sign reads “Qinhuangdao Police Hospital.”
Ms. Meng Zhaohong and Ms. Yuan Xiuhua, both 68, were arrested at a local fair on May 9, 2023, after being reported for talking to people about the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of their faith, Falun Gong.
Ms. Meng’s lawyer visited her in the hospital on June 30 and learned more about what happened to her and Ms. Yuan after their arrests.
The arresting officers from the Anziling Police Station questioned the two women after seizing them from the local fair. The police took them to a dark, damp basement in the Qinhuangdao City Police Department and interrogated them.
An officer slapped Ms. Meng in the face for more than 20 times. Her neck and ear still hurt when her lawyer visited her. The officer didn’t wear his police uniform or a police badge.
Ms. Meng kept urging the police to stop persecuting law-abiding practitioners like her. She refused to answer their questions or sign any paperwork.
The police ordered Ms. Meng to hold a bag containing Falun Gong books and have her pictures taken. She refused to give them any chance to fabricate evidence against her.
Ms. Yuan was also tortured during interrogation.
The police later took the women to the Qinhuangdao City Police Hospital for physical exams. Ms. Meng was found to have tuberculosis and coronary artery sclerosis. Ms. Yuan had a systolic blood pressure reading of more than 200 mmHg (when a healthy range is no more than 120).
Both the Qinhuangdao City Detention Center and the Qinhuangdao City Lockup refused to admit the woman based on their exam results. The police then took them back to the hospital, where they remain in adjacent rooms on the fourth floor.
The Qinglong County Procuratorate delivered their arrest warrants to their hospital rooms on May 23. In late June, personnel from the procuratorate went to the hospital again to order the women to sign paperwork. Both refused to comply.
On June 19, Ms. Meng’s daughter and other practitioners held a rally in front of the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco, calling on the communist regime to release Ms. Meng and Ms. Yuan.