Wrongfully accused addict is seeking justice

Nine months after he was beaten by police and sent to a drug rehabilitation centre in Henan , Pingdingshan miner Li Guoqing has been offered a 5,700 yuan payout for his unlawful incarceration and torture.

But 35-year-old Mr Li - who says he does not smoke, let alone take drugs - has rejected the offer for his three-month ordeal and has turned to the courts to clear his name.

On the fateful day of January 12, Mr Li had a cold and was taking advantage of a rare day of rest by visiting the town centre. As he walked towards the Pingdingshan Shoe Store, three men rushed up to him and threw him into a van. The men were local police officers trying to fill their drug arrest quota.

He was taken to a police station in Weidong district, beaten up and interrogated about why he took drugs and whether he was from 'southern China', a reference to the belief that many drug addicts and smugglers in Henan are migrants from the south.

Mr Li, who comes from a peasant family in Baofeng county under Pingdingshan's administration, was appalled at the serious accusations. He offered a simple explanation, but to no effect. 'I am a miner,' he said. 'I am a local. I am not from the south.'

He submitted a urine test and was told the result was positive. He was then asked to sign a prepared document. 'I refused to sign,' he said. 'How could I sign a confession that I didn't make? Then they took out an old-style telephone and used it to electrocute me.'