Chen Qinghe, 36, a staff at the Benxi Steel and Mining Industry Co. Ltd . in the city of Benxi, Liaoning Province. For years he had been awarded the title of model worker.
In April 1999, convinced by others, Chen Qinghe joined a Falun Gong instruction center near the mine, where he worked, to practice Falun Gong. One month later, he appeared reticent and distracted. He often got up at one o'clock at midnight or went hiking and roaming about alone, or hailed taxis without giving a destination. He started acting very strangely. An honest and kind man had turned into someone who got easily worked up, often beat and cursed others without reason and smashed things at home. His wife tried to persuade him but to no effect.
Early on the morning of May 25, Chen Qinghe finished his Falun Gong practice and went alone to a small town more than 40 kilometers away from the city of Benxi. Seeing the clear water of a river, he took off his clothes and jumped in. Back on the bank, he could not find his cloths and shoes. Fortunately, he found a pair of shabby trousers to cover himself. Then he started roaming again.
In the night of the following day, Chen Qinghe walked towards the city along the railroad tracks. He broke into the shift room at the railway junction near the Hot Spring Temple and attacked the man on shift. Afterwards, he sat near the 33rd-kilometer marker along the Benxi-Tianshifu railroad line. Seeing a distant train coming towards him, he gathered all his strength and lifted a reserve railway sleeper on to the track. Then he hid himself off to the side. At this moment, the No. 4172 cargo train went by at high speed. When the driver found something blocking the track he applied the emergency brake, but the speed was such high that the train still collided with the sleeper. The collision damaged the cowcatcher and the fuel tank of the train, which took 29 minutes to repair. As the driver was about to start the engine again, Chen Qinghe jumped into the cabin and said he wanted a ride home. Suspicious of his motives, the driver stayed calm and took him to the police station.
