Beijing Court Upholds Jail Sentence for Father Who Exposed Faulty Vaccine

A Chinese court in Beijing on Tuesday upheld a sentence of 5 months in jail for a Chinese farmer who exposed a defective tuberculosis vaccine that sickened local children, including his son.
Beijing Court Upholds Jail Sentence for Father Who Exposed Faulty Vaccine
8/31/2011
Updated:
8/31/2011

A Chinese court in Beijing on Tuesday upheld a sentence of 5 months in jail for a Chinese farmer who exposed a defective tuberculosis vaccine that sickened local children, including his son.

The Xicheng District Court rejected the appeal by Yang Yukui, a farmer from Heilongjiang Province whose son was a victim of the faulty vaccine. Yang had been found guilty on charges of “provoking trouble and picking a quarrel.”

Yang, his lawyer, and his family maintain that Yang is innocent and have said they are disappointed and angry with the verdict.

Yang’s detention is a consequence of his relentless campaign to bring the vaccines’ side effects into the public eye. His 5-year-old son, Yang Xinhao, was given a Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine shortly after birth, causing multiple lymphatic disorders.

Yang tried numerous times to petition Beijing and other authorities over the tainted vaccine, but to no avail. He requested medical records of his son from Beijing Children’s Hospital but was rejected, and was consecutively beaten by the hospital’s security three times. Between May 6 and June 7 this year, Yang clashed with doctors and staff several times over his son’s condition.

After Yang was summoned on July 27 for questioning by Yuetan police station in Beijing, he lost contact with his family. On Aug. 5, Beijing Xicheng District Court called his family and informed them of Yang’s charges. The case went to court on Aug. 15, and Yang was sentenced to 5 months detention, which Yang appealed.

At trial, the court only took into account the testimony of witnesses from the hospital and ignored Yang’s statements. Yang’s attorney had repeatedly requested a chance to look at videos of Yang and others filmed outside the hospital by a security camera, but the judge did not grant the request.

Mr. Yi, another parent whose child fell ill due to the substandard vaccines, told The Epoch Times that he met Yang when they were petitioning for redress of their grievances.

Yang’s sentence is unreasonable, he held, adding that in society today, black and white are reversed, no one cares about you, and it is useless to appeal even if you have solid evidence. He hopes that the media can help their cases.

Read the original Chinese article.

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