Paralyzed prisoner dies in jail

By Wang Jingqiong (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-06 08:08

A partially paralyzed prisoner in Meihe jail of Northeast China's Jilin province has become the latest known victim of deadly inmate violence.

Liu Xingbin, a paralyzed prisoner of Meihe jail in Tonghua, was tortured to death by four other prisoners on April 21, said Liu Rui, his 19-year-old daughter.

"The case is under investigation by the local procuratorate and the four inmates are expected to be put on trial by the end of this month," she told China Daily in a telephone interview yesterday.

Li Zhuang, deputy director of the prison, confirmed the prison has turned the case to the procuratorate, but he refused further comment on it.

Liu Xingbin, who was a house decorator, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for robbery in 2004. In August 2007, he became partially paralyzed after suffering a brain hemorrhage.

Liu Rui said she and her grandfather applied many times last year to bail out her father for medical treatment but they failed to get approval from the prison.

She said after her father died, prison officials said her father died from a brain disease and they tried to save him but the hospital failed. "The next day I went to the funeral house and saw my father's body, with a lot of bruises and scars," the girl said, "And I began to doubt that disease killed my father."

Liu Rui said she then applied for a forensic autopsy but was refused by the prison.

In May she went to Beijing, where the Ministry of Justice ordered local authorities in Jilin to perform an autopsy.

On Aug 15, the autopsy report confirmed that Liu Xingbin was injured before he died from heart disease.

On Oct 16, Meihe prison showed Liu Rui a new death report after an investigation, admitting Liu Xingbin was beaten to death by several other prisoners for smearing their bedclothes with his feces.

The death is the latest uncovered unnatural death in detention and prison facilities this year, after a string of inmate deaths in detention houses caused wide public concern.

Figures released by the Supreme People's Court on April 17 showed there had been 15 unnatural deaths in the country's prisons and detention houses up to that point of the year. Newer numbers have not been released.

Liu Rui said the prison offered her 80,000 yuan ($11,700) in compensation but she refused.

"I have spent all my time and money seeking justice since my father died," Liu Rui told China Daily. "I cannot just let him die like that. The criminals must be punished."

Wang Xiuquan, a Beijing-based lawyer, said if evidence shows prison staff was not supervising and let the tragedy happen they should be accused of dereliction. "Quite a lot of unnatural deaths in prisons should be blamed on lax management," the lawyer said.

The problem has also caught the attention of legislators.

A latest draft amendment to the State Compensation Law, submitted to the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee last month, stipulates that detention houses and jails must offer compensation if their officers beat inmates or allow others to beat inmates.

Cong Bin, an NPC Standing Committee member, said the new rule is necessary as "abuse and tolerating violence do exist in detention houses and jails".

"Some officers do not violate the law themselves, but they stand aside when violations occur. That could be considered as passively breaking the law," he said.