Victim:

            Ms. Gao Deyan, 41, female, was a Falun Gong practitioner who lived in Beima Town, Longkou City, Shandong Province. Ms. Gao was originally from Dachen Town.

Time and location the victim was last seen:

Spring 2001, in Heping Village, Longkou City, Shandong Province, China

Perpetrators:

            The local police of Longkou City, Shandong Province

Ga Biqiu, the police captain of the Longkou City Kaifa District Police Station

The Chief of the Liubowang Village Labor Camp

Brief Description:

At the end of 2000, in order to avoid the brutal persecution, Ms. Gao Deyan and her husband, Mr. Chen Zhaowu, were forced to become homeless. In the spring of 2001 someone reported them to the police. A group of policemen broke into their living quarters and arrested Mr. Chen. At the time, Ms. Gao wasn't home. Later, Mr. Chen was sentenced to the Liubowang Village Labor Camp. Since then, Ms. Gao has been missing.

Steps taken to find Ms. Gao Deyan:

Ms. Gao and her husband had been living in a place they rented in Longkou Heping Village. They were making a living through hard physical work. Ms. Gao Deyan's sister, Ms. Gao Demei, who is also a Falun Gong practitioner was taking care of their child. Since Ms. Gao Demei was also being persecuted and was detained frequently, she didn't have the ability to investigate her sister's whereabouts or try to locate her.

At the end of 2001, Longkou City police broke into Ms. Gao’s sister’s home. Policeman Yu Jiejun identified Ms. Gao Deyan's child, and inadvertently said, "Isn't this Gao Deyan's kid? Isn't Gao Deyan dead?"

In October 2004, Ms. Gao Demei and Mr. Chen Zhaowu went to the house that he and Ms. Gao Deyan had rented in 2001. While they were there, they met a person who had accidentally found the body of a woman. The person said, "There was a lot of rain in the summer of 2001. I saw a woman wearing colorful clothing. She was walking with a bike in her hand. The woman saw three plainclothes policemen. She dropped the bike and started to run. Three days later, I found her body floating in the water. I reported this to the police. The police captain, Ga Biqiu, of the Longkou City Kaifa District Police Station, handled the death. The court doctor was also present. A sample of the woman’s hair was collected. A lot of people were watching. Her body was buried a few days later."

After they heard the eyewitness's words, Ms. Gao Demei and her family went to see police captain Ga. He wasn't there. The staff on-duty called the Longkou City police station, with no results. The following Monday, Mr. Chen Zhaowu, Ms. Gao Demei and her husband Mr. Xu Xiuhuai went to Longkou City Police Station to investigate. The police checked the computer and said, "It's not in the records." It seems the case was deleted from the computer.

Mr. Chen is now working at a little mill close to his home and living with his elderly mother. His child, Chen Ming is still living at Ms. Gao Demei's home. He can only go back home to visit on holidays.

type=case,disappearance;type=case,women;location=Shandong,Longkou