Ms. Liu Xiumei  was arrested as part of a crackdown to ensure a 'Safe Olympics' in Zhucheng City. She has been reported dead after only 17days in  Zhucheng City Detention Center.

Mr Zhong's death was preceded by a history of persecution of he and his wife.

Ms. Liu Xiumei Dies after Only 17 Days In Police Custody (Photo)

In order ensure a "Safe Olympics," the police have escalated the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in Zhucheng City, Shandong Province. Each community is being forced to closely watch all detained practitioners as well as those who are serving terms in forced labor camps. Local officials must make daily reports about each practitioner that is still under surveillance and any practitioners that they have lost track of. Beginning on July 9, 2008, officers in Zhucheng City have continually harassed practitioners. Several dozen have been arrested so far.

On July 10, 2008, Developing Zone Police Station Chief Ding Bofeng (male) illegally entered Ms. Liu Xiumei's home located in Guanzhuandian Village, Shunwang Community, Zhucheng City. The police ransacked her home, placed her under arrest, and detained her in the Zhucheng City Detention Center.

Ms. Liu's family went to the Zhucheng City Police Department to inquire about her situation. The family was told that she was fine and would released in a few days. But on July 27, 2008, her husband received notification that she had died in the detention center. Her body is being stored in the Zhucheng City Funeral Home. Details of her death have not been investigated.

Complete Report on the Death of Mr. Zhong Zhenfu Due to Brutal Beating in Pingdu City Detention Center

Mr. Zhong Zhenfu was arrested on May 4, 2008, and tortured by guards who used metal wires to whip his head. He died on July 20, 2008.

Zhong Zhenfu, 58, and his wife Ms. Zhong Shuhua, 56, lived in Zhongjia Village, Changle Town, Pingdu City, Shandong Province. Ms. Zhong used to be very weak, with all sorts of diseases, and her husband had a lot of shoulder pain. They had lots of conflicts in their marriage. After they began cultivating Falun Gong in 1997, their personalities changed dramatically, and their sicknesses disappeared. But after the Communist Party started persecuting Falun Gong on July 20,1999, the couple endured several rounds of brutal mistreatment.

Tortured in a detention center

On March 14, 2001, two other practitioners went to Mr. Zhong's home. Since he was not at home, they went to another fellow practitioner's home close by. They were reported to the police and forcibly taken into custody at the Changle Town Police Station. Mr. Zhong and 16 others went to request the release of these two practitioners, but they were all arrested by more than 20 officers under Yu Bin. Officer Wang (given name unknown) told the other officer that Mr. Zhong talked too much, so they twisted his arms while pushing him into the police vehicle. This caused Mr. Zhong excruciating pain.

The police then took all of them to a detention center and took their belts taken away. The police kicked Ms. Zhong Shuhua's legs until they were bruised because she refused to have her photo taken. The practitioners were locked in small cells that are only about 35 square feet, and 6 feet tall. There was only a small window in the door, which made it hard to breathe. Mr. and Mrs. Zhong went on a hunger strike for more than 12 days to protest such inhuman treatment. Their children watched them become very thin and paid one thousand yuan in order to have Mr. Zhong released. They carried him home in a cart. Ms. Zhong was transfered to Pingdu City Detention Center. Her son gave the guards 280 yuan after one month, so they finally released her.

Taken to a brainwashing center

In the fall of 2002, before the Party's 16th Congress, Mr. and Mrs Zhong were making dinner after a day of hard work on the farm, when suddenly a large number of town government officials and a few police officers showed up. Large scale arrests of practitioners were then taking place, and the police had to use the town officials to help them carry out their arrests. Police Station CCP Director Liang Tonghai said, "The Party Committee wants to talk to you two; hurry up and put your clothes on, we will be back for you in a moment." Seeing that the couple was reluctant to follow them, the officer shouted, "Move!" Several people grabbed each of them and pushed them towards the vehicle parked on the street. They kicked the couples' feet, pressed their heads, and twisted their arms. Mr. Zhong's more than 70-year-old mother was sobbing.

The couple was taken to the Pingdu City brainwashing center. Mr. Zhong asked 610 Office Chair Dai Yugang, "Town officials told us you wanted to have a brief talk with us and then you would take us home. How come we are here? The officials lied to us and abducted us." Dai Yugng replied shamelessly, "This is how we make arrests."

The next day, guards in the center forced Mr. and Mrs. Zhong to sit on small stools for 16 hour per day and watch videos that slandered Falun Gong. More then 20 practitioners were detained in the center, and all of them were inhumanly tortured.

Wife sentenced to forced labor, Mr. Zhong forced to be homeless

In March 2004, the police arrested Mr. and Mrs. Zhong again and took away their recorder, audio tapes, and CD burner. The total value of the stolen property was over five thousand yuan. The Pingdu City police had Ms. Zhong Shuhua sentenced to three years of forced labor. Mr. Zhong had to leave home to avoid being arrested again.

One night around 10 p.m. before the 2005 Chinese New Year, officers from the Pingdu City 610 Office and Police Department stormed into Mr. Zhong's home in an attempt to arrest him, thinking he might have returned home for the holiday. Their actions frightened Mr. Zhong's elderly mother, causing her to be sick the whole New Year season. In the past nine years of persecution, the police drove to his home 55 times, causing his mother to live in a state of constant fear.

Brutal beating results in death

At around 6:00 p.m. on May 4, 2008, more than 30 officers from the Pingdu City 610 Office and the City Police Department stormed into houses that were being rented by Falun Gong practitioners as truth-clarification materials production sites in Pingdu City. They illegally arrested Ms. Xu Aifang, Ms. Liu Jiyu, Mr. Wang Yunchong, and Mr. Zhong Zhenfu. In addition, they confiscated a computer, two printers, a CD burner, a copy machine, two satellite dish systems, two electric vehicles, and Falun Gong books. That same night, the police forced each of these practitioners to sit in an iron chair and interrogated them. When the practitioners refused to reveal any information, the officers poured boiling water over their necks and bodies.

Three days later, the practitioners were taken to Pingdu City Detention Center, where the guards put shackles on Mr. Zhong Zhenfu and whipped him about the head with metal wires. He was in critical condition after this abuse. He was then detained in a metal cage with shackles on, and the guards ordered the criminal inmates to torture him. They tried to force him to curse the founder of Falun Gong. When Mr. Zhong refused, they whipped him with metal wires again. The beating lasted for over an hour. Finally a kind person persuaded them to stop by telling them that Mr. Zhong was from his hometown. By then, Mr. Zhong was injured so badly that he was not able to stand up by himself.

The guards sent Zhong Zhenfu to the hospital. The doctor told them that his injuries were very serious. To avoid any responsibility, the detention center officials released him on medical parole. Mr. Zhong had to stay in the hospital for treatment for over a month and pay over 10,000 yuan in medical expenses, but in vain. He died on July 20, 2008.