Son found dead in bathhouse dormitory, mother detained after seeking justice

In Huanren Town, Huanren Manchu Autonomous County, Liaoning Province, Chen passed away in the rest room at his workplace, but his mother was detained under the guise of disrupting public order when she sought redress after the incident.

Before the tragedy, Chen was the head of the bathing department at a local club. In August 2023, while on sick leave, he received notice that he must attend an event held by the company on August 17. Therefore, Chen arrived at the workplace on August 16 and stayed overnight in the employee rest room in the basement.

The next day when the event started, Chen was missing. When the personnel searched for him in the rest room, they found him lying lifeless in bed. The post-mortem medical certificate issued by the hospital stated that the cause of death was a heart attack. At the time, Chen was only 36 years old, and his family believed it should be considered a work-related death.

According to Wang, the mother-in-law of Ms. Ni, on the day of the incident, Ni followed local customs to the place where her son had the accident to call his spirit. The company informed the police, and when they arrived, they allowed Ni’s actions. The next day, Ni went to the club’s entrance to burn offerings for her son. The local police responded again, setting up a cordon at the scene, but still allowing Ni to burn the offerings. Subsequently, the local government intervened, and the club promised to provide an explanation, but they never appeared at the club’s entrance.

On August 24, Ni, who had been waiting in vain for an explanation, returned to the club around 5 p.m. that day, inquiring about the staff’s attitude towards the matter. They said they needed to contact the person in charge and asked Ni to wait outside.

Shortly after, several police officers arrived, and in a standoff, they pinned Ni to the ground. She was then taken to the county public security bureau. During this time, Ni was handcuffed from behind and pulled up, causing injuries to her shoulder joint. That day, Ni was administratively detained for 10 days for disrupting public order.

“I can’t do anything now. I have no strength in my right hand, and my shoulders ache, like having a disability,” said Ni. Despite undergoing surgery afterwards, she expressed dissatisfaction with the results. “The function of the right shoulder joint is completely lost, the right hand is atrophied, and the grasping function is lost.”

Wang stated that they underwent examinations at the local Disabled Persons’ Federation, and they were assessed with a level four disability, which could potentially constitute a first-degree injury as per the relevant regulations, which could then lead to a charge of intentional injury for the person causing the harm. “Although we requested an assessment of the injuries, it has not been conducted to this day.”

The medical records provided by Wang showed that Ni suffered a right shoulder joint tendon injury. She underwent arthroscopic shoulder repair surgery at the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University on November 15, 2023. However, she continued to experience limited mobility in her right hand numbness, and in recent two years, examinations revealed various symptoms such as nerve slowing, left shoulder tendon injury, fluid accumulation in the shoulder joint, and degenerative changes in the shoulder joint.

Ni believes that she did not engage in any illegal behavior, and the local police used violent means to arrest her, causing her shoulder injury and subsequent functional disability illegally.

On September 12, 2023, Ni filed for administrative review with the Benxi city government against the administrative detention imposed by the Huanren County Public Security Bureau. However, the administrative review body of the Benxi municipal government stated that the administrative penalty against Ni complied with legal provisions and the specific content of the administrative action was appropriate, upholding the original penalty.

Displeased with the decision, Ni took both units to court in Huanren County. However, the court rejected the lawsuit, citing no factual basis and legal grounds.

“Throughout the litigation process, all parties have been avoiding key issues,” said Wang. During the trial, the police claimed to have footage of the enforcement recorder when Ni was wearing handcuffs, but later said they had taken the wrong clip, prompting the plaintiff and the court to request the police to supplement the footage afterwards, but to date, the police have yet to provide this crucial evidence.

Wang mentioned that the case recently had its second trial with no outcome yet.

In response to the various questions from Ni’s side, the person in charge of the Huanren County Public Security Bureau responded, “It’s a non-existent incident!”

The person in charge stated that it is to be determined whether the injuries on Ni were caused at that time or were old injuries that needed evaluation. During her detention, Ni underwent a medical examination, but she did not mention a shoulder injury at the time. Later, she claimed that the injury was caused by police during her forced removal. However, multiple qualified appraisal agencies currently consider this claim unfounded. “We have provided her with nearly 100,000 yuan in assistance according to the relevant principles.”

Regarding the assessment, the official’s statement is completely opposite to that of the family members involved, “We also respect their wishes to undergo evaluation.” In a recorded conversation provided by Ni between the head of the police station and Ni’s husband, the officer stated that a disability assessment could not be done now, but the compensation amount could be negotiated to tens of thousands.