Belated News: Additional Witness Testimony of Mr. Meng Jincheng’s Torture Death in 2003
(Minghui.org) Mr. Meng Jincheng, of Zunhua City, Hebei Province, was arrested in November 2002 while distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. He was beaten to death by inmates on July 7, 2003, the day he was taken to the Hehuakeng Forced labor Camp. He was only 50 years old.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Meng Jincheng
Mr. Meng was still very healthy when he was taken to the forced labor camp at 10 a.m. on July 7, 2003. Wang Yulin, the deputy head of the labor camp, brought him to the sixth team for check-in. He ordered Mr. Meng to admit that “Falun Gong is a cult.” Mr. Meng refused to comply and was beaten by eight inmates. Wang took a look and left.
While Mr. Meng was being beaten, some other inmates heard him screaming.
Torture illustration: Beating
Mr. Meng fell on the back of his head in the afternoon and fainted. The guards first took him to the labor camp hospital. As the doctor there couldn’t treat him, the guards rushed him to the Tangshan City Workers’ Hospital, where he was eventually pronounced dead.
The labor camp fabricated documents to cover up the crime, claiming that Mr. Meng died of a disease, and that they provided timely resuscitation for him.
A guard claimed, “We aren’t afraid of being held responsible for it. There have been people (Falun Gong practitioners) tortured to death here every year. Which one of us has been held responsible for it?”
Mr. Meng’s body was cremated a few days later. Gao Keai, one of the inmates involved in the beating, was released eight months early. Another inmate, Huang Yongxin, was promoted as the inmate lead, responsible for torturing more Falun Gong practitioners.
Below are several witness accounts collected by Minghui.org with details about Mr. Meng’s tragic death. To protect their identities, the names listed are aliases.
Witness 1
My name is Da Hai. At 10 a.m. on July 7, 2003, I heard that a Falun Gong [practitioner] was coming. He was from Zunhua. Not long after, I heard the sound of him being beaten and shouted at.
After another half an hour, the person who was beaten was carried into the classroom. As soon as he entered the room, he fell near a rack used to take photos. Several inmates followed him into the room, led by inmate Huang Yongxin.
They ordered the person to freeze (standing without moving). But he just couldn’t. They then asked to sit in the back. I took a look at him. His face was sallow. He eyes were wide open and his mouth was also open, panting in tremendous pain. Not long after, he fell again, this time on the back of his head. An inmate reported it to the guards and they carried him outside.
I later heard that this person was Meng Jincheng. He was taken to the hospital for resuscitation, but still died. The guards ordered inmate Lu Jiang to write a fake statement about his death. Lu, Pang Kaiyu, Chen Fu, and Chang Fuhai signed the document.
Witness 2
My name is Min Zi. A Falun Gong practitioner from Zunhua was taken here at 10 a.m. on July 7, 2003. Shortly after, I heard the sound of him being beaten and scolded. After about half an hour, he was carried into the classroom. I then heard the sound of him falling to the ground. They carried him to lean against the wall and told him to stand. He couldn’t, and kept collapsing. They poured a basin of cold water on him. But he was still not very conscious.
Witness 3
I am Er Shan. After Meng Jincheng was taken to the labor camp at 10 a.m. on July 7, 2003, because he refused to sign a document that labeled Falun Gong as a “cult,” he was beaten by inmates led by Huang Yongxin. Meng was so weak that he couldn’t stand. Huang poured cold water over his head.
After lunch, Meng’s face became sallow and he was short of breath. Inmate Lu Jiang said to him, “You should have signed it when you were asked to. You could have saved yourself from being beaten.” He then asked Meng, “Are you still practicing it?” Meng answered, “Yes.” Meng fainted again at around 3 p.m. Lu reported to the guards and they took Meng to the hospital for resuscitation. The doctor couldn’t save him and he died.
Witness 4
I’m Kui Wei. On July 7, 2003, all Falun Gong practitioners held in the labor camp who refused to renounce our faith were subjected to strict management in the classroom. At about 10 a.m., we heard from the inmates that another practitioner was sent here. Shortly after, I heard that the practitioner was being beaten and verbally abused. After about ten minutes, I heard one scream and it went to silence. I thought that he might have fainted from the beating. Then an inmate shouted at him, “How dare you pretend to be dead!”
After another while, I heard the footsteps of many people coming. As I wasn’t allowed to turn my head, I saw out of the corner of my eye that a person was walking into the classroom. Inmate Huang Yongxin hit him from behind and he fell on the ground.
During lunch break, I took the opportunity to take a look at the person and was shocked. His eyes were wide open and his mouth was open, as if he was short of breath. His face was sallow. I didn’t expect this would be the last time I saw Meng Jincheng.
Witness 5
My name is Dong Chuan. I was packaging chopsticks at the fifth team on the afternoon of July 7, 2003. At around 3 p.m., I saw through the window on the north side that several people were pushing a cart to the north building, with a person lying on it. I recognized Liu Rujiang and Chen Fu among those people. There was another one who was very tall and thin and I didn’t know his name.
At the entrance of the building, Chen Fu and the tall person carried that person inside, probably to the hospital there. They didn’t stay there for very long. A van then arrived, and waited outside the building. Wang Yulin also came on a bike, with a piece of paper in his hand. Chen and the tall person carried that person out, placed him on the lawn under a tree, and then carried him into the van. After I was moved to the sixth team, I heard that the person who was carried around was Meng Jincheng.
Witness 6
I’m Zhu Wen. I heard at about 9:30 a.m. on July 7, 2003 that another Falun Gong practitioner had been taken to the labor camp. I later learned that his name was Meng Jincheng. Inmate Li Haihe brought Meng to the duty room for him to check in. All Falun Gong practitioners were ordered to put “cult” on a column of their personal profile, but Meng refused to do so.
Not long after, I heard the sound of Meng being beaten, and his tragic screams. Someone occasionally shouted at him, “Are you writing it or not?” Meng was later carried to the classroom, and he collapsed in the back near the photography rack. Huang Yongxin ordered other inmates to carry him to the front and ordered him to stand. Meng couldn’t maintain his balance and collapsed.
After we went back into our cell on the evening of July 11, I heard Li Haihe say to Huang Yongxin in a low voice at around 9:30 p.m., “Meng Jincheng is dead.”
Related reports:
Meng Jincheng from Zunhua City, Hebei Province Killed on the Day of His Arrival at Hehuakeng Labor Camp
Torture Murder of Dafa Practitioner Mr. Meng Jincheng at Tangshan City Labor Camp in Hebei Province