A medical examination had declared him unfit for detention. He was jailed anyway.
by Yang Feng
Last week only, relatives were told that Wang Ligong, a 76-year-old Falun Gong practitioner from Changchun City, Jilin province, had died in jail in November 2024.
On May 18, 2023, tipped about the couple’s affiliation with Falun Gong, the police raided the home of Wang and his 74-year-old wife, Gong Shuying. They found Falun Gong literature and detained the husband and wife.
It was apparent that both were in poor health. The police took them to two hospitals. Both were declared unfit for detention. Nonetheless, they sent the wife to Changchun City Detention Center and released the husband after he had paid the costs of the medical examinations.
Wang, however, continued to protest the detention of his wife, hired a lawyer, and petitioned local authorities. As a result, he was arrested again on August 26, 2023, and was sent to Gongzhuling Prison notwithstanding his health problems.
Not unexpectedly, his health further deteriorated in prison. He was sent to the old and disabled ward of Gongzhuling Prison and then to the jail’s infirmary.
He died there. Those who ignored two medical reports recommending that he should not be jailed are responsible for his death.
Yang Feng uses a pseudonym for security reasons.
