Zhang Guohua, male, born September 17, 1959, resident of Zhoushang Village, Zhangjiashan Street, Zhangshu City, Jiangxi Province; believed in the Lord Jesus in 2003, joined The Church of Almighty God (CAG) in April 2009. On the morning of December 12, 2012, when Zhang Guohua and four other Christians were preaching the gospel at the Xin Street Farmer’s Market in Gao’an City, Jiangxi Province, they were arrested by the police and forcibly escorted to the Xin Street Police Station.
At the police station, the police forcefully searched Zhang Guohua, seizing a cell phone and medicines for treating hypertension, and subjecting him to interrogation.
After the interrogation, when the police conducted a physical examination on Zhang, they discovered that Zhang’s blood pressure was as high as 180mmHg, and his physical condition was dangerous, but they still took him to the Gao’an City Detention Center. Zhang Guohua had had a previous history of hypertension for two years which 82 had been controlled by drugs. During the time of incarceration, the police only gave him the cheapest hypertensive drug—nitrendipine tablets that could not control the condition very well.
On April 26, 2013, Zhang Guohua was sentenced to criminal detention for five months by the Gao’an City Court on the charge of “sabotaging the enforcement of laws by utilizing cult organizations.” He was returned to Gao’an City Detention Center for incarceration.
On April 28, the scorching sun was high in the sky and the temperature was over 30 degrees Celsius. The air outside the prison was extremely dry and hot. The director of the Gao’an City Detention Center, Cao, asked Zhang and other prisoners to hoe the vegetable patch along the outer prison wall. Around 1:30 p.m., Zhang’s blood pressure started to rise after working for about an hour. He began to feel dizzy, nauseous and staggering. The director of the detention center ignored Zhang’s condition. After 7 o’clock in the evening, Zhang’s condition worsened; he felt dizzy and kept drooling. Prisoners in the same room quickly reported to the prison guard on duty. Since Zhang Guohua became ill to serious condition, the police had ignored his condition. Until he was sent to the Gao’an People’s Hospital by two prison guards, he was already in a comatose state. Diagnosis showed that Zhang had suffered from a large area of cerebral infarction on the right side with Grade-3 hypertensive condition. He was in a high-risk state. Due to the seriousness of his illness, he was transferred to the Jiangxi Provincial People’s Hospital on the next day.
After Zhang was hospitalized for more than twenty days, the detention center was eager to shirk responsibility and evade the high medical expenses. Two policemen wrote a release certificate directly on a sheet of letter paper at the hospital and let Zhang sign it. Afterward, the police left Zhang behind in the hospital. The doctor told Zhang’s son that due to delayed treatment, it would be difficult for Zhang to recover from the resulting sequela.
On June 14, 2013, after 48 days of treatment, Zhang Guohua was discharged from the hospital. Although he had survived, he was disabled and paralyzed on the left side. He was unable to take care of himself. His hearing was severely degraded, his speech was blurred, his memory was severely degraded, and his body functions were greatly damaged. The treatment cost Zhang’s son nearly 60,000 RMB. The high medical expenses made it worse for the poor family.
After leaving the hospital, Zhang Guohua’s family had been spending money taking care of him. Later, Zhang’s physical conditions became worse and worse. On February 17, 2018, he suffered from a hypertensive attack. He died on February 21 at age 59 after all available remedies had been exhausted.
