Chen Fuzhao

Case record: Chen Fuzhao

Background

Chen Fuzhao was a 29-year-old Falun Gong practitioner. He was described as an assistant clinician in a small hospital in Cangnan county, and also described as a dermatologist from Cangnan County of Wenzhou City in Zhejiang Province, east China. Chen had started to practice Falun Gong cult in 1996, and he was described as having been obsessed by Falun Gong in 1996. His mother said that before Chen practised Falun Gong he was good-tempered and often chatted with her, but after he practised Falun Gong he talked little and was often seen sitting in bed murmuring with weird looks.

Chen had a happy family before he was obsessed by Falun Gong in 1996.

Falun Gong’s “master” was identified as Li Hongzhi, and the case described Chen’s mental control as being under Li Hongzhi’s direction.

The offence

A Chinese court said Chen Fuzhao had killed 16 people with rat poison. The court said that Chen handed out drinks laced with poison. Fifteen of the victims were beggars, and the other victim was a social worker who died after she drank water poisoned by Chen at a temple.

The killings took place between 25 May and 27 June this year, and were also described as occurring from May 25 to June 27, 2003. Chen was found to have poisoned 15 vagrant beggars and trash pickers by giving them beverages mixed with rat poison from May 25 to June 27, 2003.

In the first instance judgment issued by the municipal intermediate people’s court of Wenzhou, it was also found that Chen was guilty of putting poison into a thermos flask containing boiled water in the kitchen of a Buddhist temple. A female worshipper drank the water, fell to the ground and died.

Chen was detained for allegedly killing 16 beggars and vagrants and injuring one more by supplying them with poisoned food and water in Cangnan County of East China’s Zhejiang Province, provincial police said on July 2. Chen was believed to have put a kind of rat poison, named “Dushuqiang” in Chinese, into food and drinks and then offered them to beggars and junk men on 17 occasions between May 25 and June 26 in Cangnan County’s Longgang Town.

Medical experts said that “Dushuqiang” had been found in the stomachs of Chen’s victims. Among the 17 victims, only one was still alive and was receiving emergency hospital care.

Chen told the police that it was beneficial to his Falun Gong beliefs to kill beggars or vagrants, whom were regarded by him as the highest-level people among all kinds of human beings.

Chen said:

“When I was reading the doctrines on Feb. 17, I suddenly felt Master Li Hongzhi told me to do bad things, which though contrary to my usual practices, would help promote my power, ” Chen said, “ and I felt the bad things included killing, setting fires, and all the bad things are extremely good for our practices.” “I began killing mosquitoes, flies, then dogs and humans,” Chen said. “Most people would not take my drinks, so I chose beggars and vagrants, ” “When asked how many people he wanted to kill, Chen answered he wanted to kill all human kind within one year.”

Chen was also described as having started killing first dogs then human beings, under Li Hongzhi’s direction. The case described Chen’s motive as “upgrading” himself and raising his own power by massacring others as the target of his assaults, and as an effort to reach a state of “spiritual perfection”. Another described motive was “upgrade the efficacy” of his Falun Gong cultivation.

Investigation and arrest

More than 500 policemen were involved with the case, according to sources with the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Public Security. The case described the investigation as involving tenacious digging by more than 500 police officers in the past week, and that Chen was taken into custody and further investigations were going on when he was detained.

Chen was taken into custody and further investigations were going on.

Trial

Chen admitted the charges of poisoning the 16 innocent people to death in the trial.

Many locals watched the trial and heard the verdict.

The court in the eastern city of Wenzhou said the court verdict that Chen was inspired by the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which was banned in China. According to China’s state-run news agency Xinhua, Chen was inspired by Falun Gong and committed his month-long killing spree in an effort to reach a state of “spiritual perfection”.

The case also included an assertion attributed to Xinhua: “During the trial, the defendant Mr. Chen Fuzhao and his attorney were given sufficient opportunities for defense. The local residents of different walks of life also sat through the trial and heard the judge’s verdict.”

A municipal intermediate people’s court of Wenzhou issued the first instance judgment.

Sentencing

Chen was sentenced to death on December 30, 2003.

Appeals

The provided material did not include appeal details.

Outcome

Chen Fuzhao was executed following his death sentence.

Aftermath

The case described the event as being covered in BBC News on Wednesday, 31 December, 2003, stating that a Chinese court had sentenced to death a man it said had been inspired by the banned Falun Gong movement to kill 16 people with rat poison.

The case also included a later statement disputing the allegations: it claimed that Xinhua News published a fabricated story about Chen Fuzhao being a Falun Gong practitioner and that he was sentenced to death for killing people by poisoning them, and it criticized the claims about the killings and motive.