(Minghui.org)

Name: Xu ZhichengChinese Name: 徐志诚Gender: MaleAge: 44City: HegangProvince: HeilongjiangOccupation: EngineerDate of Death: October 3, 2005Date of Most Recent Arrest: September 23, 2005Most Recent Place of Detention: Hegang City Second Detention Center

Mr. Xu Zhicheng

Mr. Xu Zhicheng died on October 3, 2005, days after he was arrested for practicing Falun Gong. The Hegang City, Heilongjiang Province, man was 44.

Mr. Xu was last arrested on September 23, 2005, and taken to the Hegang City Second Detention Center three days later. As soon as he was admitted to the detention center, he went on a hunger strike in protest. The guards handcuffed and shackled him. They also put his feet through two loops on either end of a metal bar, which, along with the shackles, was fixed to a metal ring in the ground.

As Mr. Xu continued his hunger strike, the guards began to force-feed him on September 29, 2005. A male doctor surnamed Zhang, around 50, and a female doctor took turns handling the force-feeding, assisted by four or five inmates and guards. They force-fed him a whole basin (eight inches in diameter) of corn paste each time.

He was force-fed once a day at around 10 a.m. Minghui.org previously reported on some of the sessions. This report provides new information from an insider.

The insider reported that, on October 2, 2005, the corn paste Mr. Xu had been force-fed all came back out and covered the floor. There were bloodstains in it. At around 8 p.m. that day, another jailed Falun Gong practitioner Jin (alias) noted that Mr. Xu’s head was bent over, his chin resting on his chest, and he appeared really out of it. Jin called his name, and he seemed to want to say something but couldn’t get any words out.

Jin alerted the inmate on duty, who reported it to head inmates Wang Jinshan and Zhang Zhixin. The latter two instructed the inmate on duty to use the intercom to report to the guard on duty, who was heard responding, “No big deal. Ignore him!”

At around 11 p.m., Jin checked on Mr. Xu again and this time lifted his chin. When Jin let go, Mr. Xu’s head flopped down on his chest again.

Jin alerted the inmate on duty that Mr. Xu was dying. Another inmate also came and they woke up head inmates Wang and Zhang. They reported the situation to the guard on duty using the intercom. It took the guard about 15 minutes to respond.

Jin noted that the guard on duty was actually Li Shulin, the director of the detention center. Doctor Zhang was also on call that night.

Li called the medical emergency number and instructed the inmates to carry Mr. Xu out of his cell. The inmates had to use hammers and other tools to remove the metal bar and shackles from his feet, which took at least five minutes.

They did not get Mr. Xu in the ambulance until around 11:40 p.m. He died at the Hegang City People’s Hospital the next morning, October 3, 2005.

Mr. Xu was an engineer for the Coal Mine Bureau in Hegang City. He started practicing Falun Gong in 1996. After the Chinese Communist Party began to persecute the practice in July 1999, he was demoted to factory worker. He was arrested at home on April 20, 2002, and given three years of forced labor. Only months after he was released in April 2005, he was arrested again and died in custody.

Related Reports:

Additional Information on the Death of Mr. Xu Zhicheng from Hegang City, Heilongjiang Province

Persecution of Falun Gong by the Heilongjiang 610 Office

Detailed Information Regarding Mr. Xu Zhicheng's Death

Thirty Cases of Falun Gong Practitioners Tortured to Death Confirmed in October (Photos)

Two Dafa Practitioners Persecuted to Death in Hegang City Since September 2005