(Minghui.org) Two Taian City, Shandong Province residents were recently sentenced to prison for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Cheng Guifeng, 80, was arrested on October 22, 2021, while distributing calendars with information about Falun Gong. Her home was ransacked. She was later released on bail with her son as her guarantor.

The Feicheng City Procuratorate informed Ms. Cheng in late 2021 that her arrest has been approved. She was soon indicted and had her case moved to the Feicheng City Court.

Ms. Cheng stood trial on March 18, 2022, and was sentenced to six months with one-year probation and 5,000 yuan fine on May 6. Although the probation exempted her from serving time in prison, she was ordered to report to the local justice bureau every week and have two video calls with the officials every day, for them to see that she stays at home. Her children are also assisting the authorities in monitoring her. They don’t allow her to contact other local Falun Gong practitioners either.

The other practitioner, Ms. Li Fazhen, in her 80s, lives in the same neighborhood as Ms. Cheng. Ms. Li was arrested in the summer of 2020 after being reported for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. While she escaped, the police forced her daughter to tell them her whereabouts.

Ms. Li was taken back into custody and had her home ransacked multiple times in 2021. She was sentenced to two years and fined 2,000 yuan by the Taishan District Court in late 2021. The judge allowed her to serve time outside of prison and ordered her children to monitor her and prevent her from contacting other Falun Gong practitioners.