Was she strip-searched? Lawyer mulls action against Chinese police as public support mounts
Allegation that three women were forced to strip and evidence was destroyed strikes chord on social media as demand grows for release of surveillance footage
A lawyer who says she was choked and strip-searched by police in southern China while working on a case has said she is considering taking action against the police force, amid growing support for her on social media and demands for the release of the related surveillance footage.
Sun Shihua, the 48-year-old lawyer who has worked on civil and commercial cases for 18 years, posted a letter on the social media platform WeChat this week recounting a harrowing experience, calling the alleged incident, involving police in Guangzhou, “the darkest, most terrifying and humiliating day of my life”.
The letter immediately went viral, with people expressing concerns about police brutality.
In response, the Guangzhou police force said on its official WeChat account on Wednesday that after reviewing security footage and holding interviews, it found no beating or shaming by police officers. Instead, the authorities said, Sun and two other individuals insulted and filmed the police bureau, disrupting public order, so the policemen performed a security check and made inquiries.
Sun told the South China Morning Post the incident took place on September 20, when she went to the Hualin police bureau in Liwan district, Guangzhou, with her client, Li Xiaozhen. They went to the station at about 3pm to request the release of Li’s husband, Zhou Jianbin.
Li and Zhou both have a long record of petitioning the authorities and had been detained multiple times in the past.
