80-year-old Retired Physician Sentenced to 3.5 Years for Her Faith

(Minghui.org) An 80-year-old retired physician in Liaoyang County, Liaoning Province was sentenced to 3.5 years for her faith in Falun Gong. Her family is now appealing the verdict.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Ma Kunfang was arrested at home on the morning of November 6, 2020 by two plainclothes officers from the Liaoyang County Police Department. While the officers were searching her home, another 20 plainclothes officers also showed up. None of them showed their police IDs.

Ms. Ma tried to persuade the officers not to participate in the persecution, but they refused to listen and pinned her to the floor and handcuffed her arms behind her back. Another practitioner, Ms. Yu Guimei, who happened to be at Ms. Ma’s place, was also arrested.

The officers spent three hours ransacking Ms. Ma’s home. Her Falun Gong books, informational materials, photo of Falun Gong’s founder, Falun Gong lecture DVDs, media players, and several thousand yuan in cash were confiscated. 

Both Ms. Ma and Ms. Yu were taken to the county police department for interrogation. Ms. Ma was kept in a dark room. The police bound her to a metal chair, with her hands and feet shackled to the chair. Ms. Ma refused to answer any questions.

When Ms. Ma was released from the chair five hours later, her wrists were swollen and bruised. She had pain in her back and legs. Her legs were also numb and she was unable to walk on her own. With the help of her family, she returned home that evening on bail.

Ms. Yu was taken to the Liaoyang Detention Center the next day. Due to her high blood pressure, she was refused admission and also released.

The police later submitted Ms. Ma’s case to the Dengta City Procuratorate. She was tried by the Dengta City Court on March 29, 2021 and sentenced to 3.5 years.

Prior to her latest arrest and sentencing, Ms. Ma was arrested twice, between July and October 1999, for going to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong. She was taken back to Liaoyang and detained for over twenty days. 

Ms. Ma was arrested again in February 2001 and detained briefly. After she was released, she lived away from home for over two years to avoid further persecution. 

Ms. Ma was arrested one more time on August 10, 2006 and held at the Shizuizi Brainwashing Center.

Perpetrators’ contact information:
Su Kuigang (宿奎刚), secretary of Liaoyang County Political and Legal Affairs Committee: [phone]Wang Jiajun (王佳俊), officer of of Liaoyang County Political and Legal Affairs Committee: [phone], [phone]Dengta City Court: [phone]Pan Jinshan (潘金山), head of Liaoyang County Domestic Security Office: [phone]Zhang Xianwu (张宪武), deputy head of Liaoyang County Domestic Security Office: [phone]Xiao (肖), deputy head of Liaoyang County Domestic Security Office: [phone]