Recently, in the town of Banqiao Store in Yicheng City, Hubei Province, merchant Yu Shanqiang was intercepted by local government officials and public security authorities on his way to Beijing to reflect on the injustice in the case of his son’s murder. During the process, he was violently beaten, robbed of his belongings and appeal materials, and eventually abandoned in a remote area of Banqiao Store Town.
Yu Shanqiang recently recounted to a reporter from Epoch Times the events that occurred during his visit to Beijing: On April 21, Yu Shanqiang reported the situation to the Fourth Circuit Court of the Supreme Court in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, and later with the coordination of local government officials in Banqiao Store Town including Fan Yimeng, he was allowed to go to Beijing. Upon arrival in Beijing, he submitted materials to the Supreme Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security, requesting a review of his son’s case.
However, as soon as Yu Shanqiang came out of the Ministry of Public Security, he was intercepted by a group of people. Among them were personnel from the Yicheng City Beijing Office, Li Jiahong, Wang Chaojun, as well as a staff member named Zhou from the Xiangyang City Public Security Bureau stationed at the Ministry of Public Security. They forcibly took him into a vehicle, where he was pressed, insulted, and beaten. His phone was snatched and damaged, and his money and appeal materials were taken away.
In the early morning of April 23, he was taken to a remote location near Shan Village in Banqiao Store Town, where he was forcibly dragged out of the car. He was beaten in the rain and attacked with a glass, causing dizziness, ringing in his ears, multiple injuries to his body, and was subsequently abandoned at the scene.
In the darkness, Yu Shanqiang struggled to find his discarded belongings and called the police, but the information was forwarded to the local police station in Banqiao Store Town and no response was received.
Upon returning home the next day, Yu Shanqiang reported the incident to the Xiangyang City Public Security Bureau and the Yicheng City Public Security Bureau, demanding an investigation into the illegal detention, intentional harm, and robbery of his belongings by the individuals involved.
On June 24, 2013, at noon, Yu Shanqiang brought a cart of watermelons to the agency point for sale, and his neighbor Wang Fangfang also brought a small cart of watermelons to sell. When weighing the melons, she rushed to the scale ahead of Yu Shanqiang. Yu Shanqiang tried to stop Wang Fangfang from cutting in line and was beaten, resulting in a head injury and hospitalization at Yicheng City People’s Hospital, accompanied by his wife Tian Qingrong.
While the parents were in the hospital, Yu Shanqiang’s son, Yu Chuanlong, was alone at home. He had recently retired from the Armed Police Force. Around 11 p.m. that night, Wang Fangfang and her family members broke into the house, robbed Yu Chuanlong, murdered him, and then burned down the house, severely damaging his body.
After the incident, Wang Fangfang was sentenced to death, but the court only ordered her to pay funeral expenses and housing repair costs of ten thousand yuan each for Yu Chuanlong. Yu Shanqiang believes that the sentence was clearly too lenient, and some of the property involved in the case has not been returned to this day, raising doubts about the inadequate investigation of the organized crime aspect of the case.
To seek justice for his son, Yu Shanqiang and his wife began filing complaints and seeking justice. Throughout the legal process, they have faced repeated oppression and persecution. In 2016, his wife Tian Qingrong was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months for “provoking trouble,” and in 2017, Yu Shanqiang was also sentenced to 4 years and 9 months for the same charge.
For thirteen years, Yu Shanqiang has continued to appeal, and the case has now entered relevant procedures in the Hubei Provincial High Court and the Supreme Court, but substantive progress has yet to be made.