Society

Petitioner jailed for 'blackmailing govt'

By Zuo Likun (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-05-06 19:23

A landless farmer in north China's Shanxi province, who for the last decade kept petitioning to reclaim his land, has been sentenced to three years in jail for "blackmailing the government and document forgery", the China Youth Daily reported Thursday.

Ma Jiwen purchased and dug up 10 hectares of waste land in the 1980s in his hometown in Linxian County, a practice in line with the agriculture policy then, which aimed to expand rural cultivation. Jujube and peach trees were planted on the barren lands, bringing success to Ma, who was once hailed a as a farming paragon.

But Ma's village officials recalled his lands in 1999 for defaulting on tenure fees and allocated his lands to other villagers, who chopped down all the fruit trees. The next year, a county court, based on Ma's land purchase certificate, outlawed village officials' recall decision, mandating the disputed land be returned to Ma.

The verdict in Ma's favor has never been carried out, sending the old farmer on a decade's petition road that he never expected to end in jail. Ma's repeated petitioning and appealing for help, viewed as an embarrassing to officials eager to impress Beijing on local achievements, softened in 2008 and 2009 when he sealed an agreement with local officials in exchange for 7,500 yuan.

Months later, Ma was arrested by Beijing policemen and sent back to his hometown. In January, 2010, Ma was sentenced to jail on charges of "blackmailing and document forgery" by the same judge, Xin Naiping, who ten years ago ruled Ma was the lands' lawful holder.

As for the forgery charge, village official Lv Chengyang confirmed to China Youth Daily that Ma's land purchase certificate was authentic and his testifying against Ma was under pressure from county bosses.

Ma, afflicted with severe liver cirrhosis, has been taken to labor camps four times during his petitioning. His son has since changed his own name to "Ma Ruthless". His daughter returned home from college and bought a truck to convey coal and vegetables to earn money.

Ma's case has been appealed to a higher court in Lvliang city in Shanxi.