Woman Held in Hospital for 7+ Years After Police Beat Her Unconscious

For practicing Falun Gong, upholding her belief, and exercising freedom of expression, Ms. Shi Yunlan was arrested in Wuan City, Hebei Province, China on October 9, 2014. While in custody, police beat her unconscious. As a result of the torture, Ms. Shi was forced to undergo a craniotomy—a surgical opening of the skull. She is still in dire need of brain surgery. Because the police refuse to pay the medical bill, for which they are responsible, Ms. Shi has been held in the hospital for more than 7 years.

On the evening of October 9, 2014, Ms. Shi and another Falun Gong practitioner, Ms. Liu Kaofeng were arrested for putting up posters about Falun Gong in Wuan City. They were promptly taken to the local Huoshui Village Police Station, where police chief Guo Hongjie and deputy chief Li Xinshao interrogated the women in separate rooms.

During the interrogation, chief Guo Hongjie and chief Li proceeded to beat Ms. Shi until she vomited and lost consciousness. When they were unable to wake her up, they transported her to the Wuan First Hospital.

Ms. Shi underwent a craniotomy at 1:00 p.m. on October 10, 2014, at the neurosurgery department in Wuan First Hospital. After the craniotomy, because her brain had been bleeding for too long, she could not talk clearly and was left paralyzed. Since then, she has been relying on a wheelchair to move around in the hospital. 

When Ms. Shi was admitted to hospital, Huoshui-Station police initially paid 1,000 yuan of the medical bill. They promised her family that they would cover her medical expenses and provide them with compensation. But after paying only a few more hundred yuan, the police have shirked their responsibility of covering all her medical expenses.

Because the police refuse to provide a case report or pay the medical bill, the hospital is at a financial stalemate and will not discharge her. Moreover, the doctors have yet to receive the necessary payment to perform the operation required to repair her skull.

Ms. Shi’s family has filed several complaints at the Handan City Procuratorate, the Hebei Provincial Procuratorate, the Hebei Provincial Public Security Department, and Ministry of Public Security against officers Guo Hongjie and Li Xinshao. They have demanded to hold the two officers accountable for Ms. Shi Yunlan’s condition and medical bill. 

In September 2017, the Wuan City Political and Legal Affairs Committee ordered the Huoshui Village government and the Huoshui Police Station to compensate Ms. Shi Yunlan’s family. The Huoshui Village government initially paid the family 10,000 yuan but stopped after the family showed them the entire medical bill, which has reached approximately 500,000 yuan (~79,000 USD) so far.

Based on an original report from Minghui.org

Perpetrators responsible for Ms. Shi’s condition:

• Fan Zhongqing (樊中青), deputy secretary of Wuan Municipal Committee
• Zhang Chenliang (张臣良), former secretary of Wuan Municipal Committee
• Huang Yukai (黄玉凯), former director of Wuan Public Security Bureau
• Guo Hongjie (郭宏杰), head of Huoshui Police Station: +86-13803201001
• Li Xinshao (李鑫绍), deputy head of Huoshui Police Station: +86-18931600150, +86-15081019110
• Wang Baoshu (王保书), deputy head of Huoshui Police Station: +86-18231051520.