Mr. Li Riqing Died in 2008 at a Psychiatric Hospital

Name: Li Riqing
Gender: Male
Age: 56
Address: Unknown
Occupation: Crane Operator of the Xiangtan Steel Corporation
Date of Death: Spring of 2008
Date of Most Recent Arrest: February 2002
Most Recent Place of Detention: Xiangtan Psychiatric Hospital
City: Xiangtan
Province: Hunan
Persecution Suffered: Electric shock, brainwashing, forced injections/drug administration, beatings, mental hospital
Key Persecutors: Yan Guoqian

Mr. Li Riqing was a crane operator at the Xiangtan Steel Corporation. Officials from the Xiangtan City 610 Office, the Xiangtan Police Department, and the Xiangtan Steel Corporation arrested Mr. Li three times. He was sent to Xiangtan Psychiatric Hospital each time for long-term torture. He died there as a result of torture in 2008, at the age of 56.

Mr. Li was a diligent worker, and was a kind and quiet person. Before he practised Falun Gong, he suffered from many kinds of long-term ailments, such as a stomach disease, rheumatism, and pancreatitis. When his pancreatitis became acute, he rolled on the ground because of the extreme pain, and was sent to the hospital several times. In October 1998, Mr. Li began to practise Falun Gong. Shortly afterwards, his illnesses disappeared. He regained a healthy body and his family lived a happy life.

After the persecution of Falun Gong began in July 1999, Mr. Li and his wife, Ms. Zhang Cifeng, wanted to appeal against the persecution of Falun Gong to the central government. At the end of 1999, they went to Beijing for a vacation. During their vacation, they stopped by Tian'anmen Square and then planned to go to the Appeals Bureau next. However, they were arrested right after they arrived at Tian'anmen Square and were then detained at the Xiangtan Government's Liaison Office in Beijing for about 15 days. Yan Guoqian, an officer from the Security Section of the Xiangtan Steel Corporation, escorted them back. They were detained in the No. 1 Hostel of the Xiangtan Steel Corporation for more than a month while they were forced to attend brainwashing sessions at the Security Section. Mr. Li refused to renounce Falun Gong.

In the spring of 2000, under orders from the Xiangtan 610 Office, the officials from Xiangtan Steel Corporation put huge pressure on Mr. Li and his wife. They threatened to stop Mr. Li's salary. When they saw his wife's fear, they told her that they would not do it if she agreed to send Mr. Li to the Xiangtan Psychiatric Hospital. Due to the huge financial pressure, she agreed against her will. In the psychiatric hospital, Mr. Li was subjected to brainwashing. When he refused to renounce Falun Gong, the officials from the Xiangtan 610 Office ordered the medical staff and the police officers to forcibly feed and inject him with antipsychotic drugs, shock him with electric batons, and handcuff and beat him. They often threatened to stop his salary or even worse to fire him and send him to a labour camp. When other practitioners visited Mr. Li at the hospital, he told them about his suffering.

In January 2001, Mr. Li's wife and son strongly requested Mr. Li's release for the Chinese New Year celebration. Mr. Li was released, and after the Chinese New Year, he went back to work. However, he and his family were constantly harassed and threatened. Two months after he went back to work, he was taken to the Xiangtan Psychiatric Hospital again by officials from the Security Division of the Xiangtan Steel Corporation.

In January 2002, Mr. Li's wife and son once again demanded Mr. Li's release for the Chinese New Year celebration. When he arrived home, his wife and son found that he was in very bad shape. He was emaciated without the strength to speak. His memory was fading and his hands shook constantly. When his wife and son asked what happened, he told them that he had been injected and fed for a long time with drugs that damaged the nervous system. They were really angry. Officials from the Xiangtan 610 Office and the Security Division of the Xiangtan Steel Corporation were afraid of others knowing the truth. Right after the Chinese New Year, Mr. Li was immediately sent back to the Xiangtan Psychiatric Hospital for a third time. He was never released.

Mr. Li was tortured to death at the hospital in the spring of 2008, at the age of 56.

Practitioner Mr. Zhao Xianghai from the Xiangtan Steel Corporation has been detained in the Xiangtan Psychiatric Hospital for over five years. He was subjected to drug administration, and he now has a mental disorder.

The officials of the Xiangtan 610 Office used the cases of Mr. Li and Mr. Zhao to threaten other practitioners.