(Minghui.org)

Name: Wang ZhizhouChinese Name: 王自周Gender: MaleAge: 74City: SheqiProvince: HenanOccupation: UnknownDate of Death: October 14, 2023Date of Most Recent Arrest: June 8, 2021Most Recent Place of Detention: Xinmi City Prison

A 74-year-old resident of Sheqi County, Henan Province died on October 14, 2023, while serving 3.5 years in the Xinmi City Prison for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999. 

Mr. Wang Zizhou, a once healthy man, was abused until he became severely ill in September 2023, yet the prison authorities never rendered him any medical care. They did not take him to the hospital until ten minutes after his passing. 

The prison authorities declared that Mr. Wang died of natural causes and they refused to provide his family with a copy of his autopsy report or surveillance videos on the grounds that the information was confidential.

Mr. Wang Zizhou

Final Days in Prison

Mr. Wang’s prison sentencing stemmed from an arrest on June 8, 2021. He was admitted to Ward Nine of the Xinmi City Prison around late December 2022, shortly after he’d been sentenced to three and a half years. 

The prison guards subjected Mr. Wang to intensive brainwashing aimed to force him to renounce Falun Gong. They also forced him to do hard labor without pay. The relentless abuse took a toll on his health and he became severely ill in September 2023. 

After his passing, Mr. Wang’s family was allowed to take a quick look at the surveillance videos even though they were barred from getting a copy of the videos. 

They saw from the videos that Mr. Wang lay in bed most of the time during the last three days of his life. He was seen pressing his abdomen with both hands from time to time and appeared to be in extreme pain. He needed help to undress before sleep. When he yelled for help to use the restroom, sometimes he got no help at all and had to lie down again. When he did manage to go to the restroom on his own at times, he was seen to be walking unsteadily and looking extremely uncomfortable upon returning to his cell.

Mr. Wang’s family was heartbroken to see the final hours of his life. From 5 a.m. to 10:06 a.m. on October 14, 2023, he appeared extremely weak and it took him a long time to put on his clothes. He had to sit down during the morning roll call and needed help to get up. When his cellmates had breakfast, he had no appetite and lay in bed. Two people helped him use the restroom once. 

Despite his condition, the guards did not bother to check in on him, much less get medical care for him. They even ordered him to write a request to take sick leave from work (he was forced to do hard labor without pay). Once a teacher himself, Mr. Wang struggled to write the request because he was just too weak. His hands were shaking, yet the guards and the cellmates blamed him for being too slow in writing the request. 

A few minutes before his passing, Mr. Wang was seen changing his position frequently and in extreme pain. Yet no cellmates or guards paid him any attention. 

Mr. Wang stopped breathing and moving at 10:06 a.m. Ten minutes later, someone finally noted that he was motionless and kicked him a few times. He did not move. Only then did the prison take his body to a hospital for “resuscitation.” They then notified his family. By the time his loved ones rushed there, his body had been placed in the hospital morgue.

Family Condemns Prison for Causing Mr. Wang’s Avoidable Death

The prison had Mr. Wang’s family take a quick look at his autopsy report without allowing them to have a copy or take a picture of it. 

The autopsy report stated that Mr. Wang suddenly lost consciousness and was found to have heart disease and high blood pressure. His loved ones said that he had always been healthy since he took up Falun Gong decades ago and that he had no medical history of heart disease. They were outraged that the prison never notified them of Mr. Wang’s condition, had not provided treatment for him, nor released him on medical parole. His death was entirely avoidable, yet the prison’s lack of action killed him.

Mr. Wang’s Latest Arrest

A group of officers from the Sheqi County Domestic Security Office broke into Mr. Wang’s home on June 8, 2021 and took him to the Sheqi County Detention Center. One week later, the Sheqi County Domestic Security Office, along with the Raoliang Town Police Station and the Nanyang City Police Department, summoned Mr. Wang’s daughter, who was still nursing her infant baby, to the village government office and threatened to arrest her and send her children to an orphanage, even though she did not practice Falun Gong herself.

On June 25, 2021, officers from the Sheqi County Domestic Security Office, with the Raoliang Town Police Station, broke into Mr. Wang’s home and confiscated two cell phones and other valuables. They broke several locks during the raid. 

On December 6, 2021, officers from the Sheqi County Domestic Security Office broke into Mr. Wang’s home again and confiscated a music player. They also arrested his daughter and held her at the Sheqi County Lockup for ten days. Her infant baby cried non-stop. 

The Tanghe County Court sentenced Mr. Wang to three and a half years around the end of 2022 and he was soon admitted to the Xinmi City Prison.

Mr. Wang’s wife, who is blind, had relied on him for care because their daughter was busy caring for her own children and their son worked out of town. 

After Mr. Wang’s arrest, his son returned to Henan to take care of his mother. They had been longing for Mr. Wang’s release but are now devastated by his untimely death.

A Prior One-Year Term

Mr. Wang was previously arrested on July 18, 2019, again by the Sheqi County Domestic Security Office and the Raoliang Town Police Station. The officers seized more than ten Falun Gong books from his home. They also ripped the decorative couplets and New Year paintings from his door and walls. 

The Sheqi County Procuratorate issued a formal arrest warrant against Mr. Wang on July 22, 2019 and he was taken to the Sheqi County Detention Center. He was later sentenced to one year.