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News.com.au
21 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Australian journalist Cheng Lei relives ‘torture' of China's secret jails in documentary
An Australian journalist has relived the 'mental torture' of her time in one of China's notorious RSDL black jail cells in a harrowing documentary detailing ordeal. It has been little more than one-and-a-half-years since Cheng Lei landed safely in Australia after spending nearly three in Chinese custody. She was a prominent business anchor for a Chinese state broadcaster when Ministry of State Security officers unexpectedly raided her Beijing apartment in August, 2020. After hunting through her belongings and seizing all her electronic devices, they blindfolded Cheng and disappeared her into China's web of secret prisons. Now a Sky News presenter based in her hometown of Melbourne, Cheng has delved into the brutality of her detention in a documentary for the network titled Cheng Lei: My Story. She shares heart-wrenching details of the darkest period of her life and offers a rare glimpse into one of the most ruthless justice systems on the planet. Cheng was held in solitary confinement for nearly six months after being accused of endangering China's national security. Chinese authorities never fully clarified the allegation, but that did not stop them holding her for 177 days before her official arrest. 'RSDL is the Chinese spelling for hell,' Cheng said in the documentary. 'It stands for Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location, which makes you think it's house arrest. 'But in reality, it's mental torture.' Little is known about RSDL in China. But Safeguard Defenders, which tracks disappearances in China, has scraped enough together to paint a deeply disturbing picture. Detainees are kept at unknown locations for up to six months in cells 'designed to prevent suicide', according to the human rights not-for-profit. Witnesses have told the group they were denied legal counsel or contact with the outside world and 'regularly subjected to torture and forced to confess' — experiences hauntingly similar to Cheng's. Faced with a recreation of her cell, Cheng became emotional and said the months she spent inside were 'as close to dying and wanting to die as I ever got'. 'Yeah, this is where I spent six months,' she said as she entered the mock cell. 'Just sitting like this, thinking I was never gonna get out and absolutely helpless.' The room was simple — blank, cream walls, a bed and a stool for the guards that watched over her 24/7. She was forbidden from talking or making the 'slightest movement', and had to receive permission before so much as scratching herself, she explained. 'So you're in a bare room, and you are guarded and watched at all times by two guards,' Cheng said. 'One stands in front of me, one sits next to me, and they take turns with the standing and sitting. 'I have to sit on the edge of the bed and have my hands on my lap. 'Not allowed to cross the ankles or cross the legs, not allowed to close the eyes, no talking, no laughing, no sunshine, no sky, no exercise, no requests, no colour — just fear, desperation, isolation and utter boredom.' She says she sat like that for 13 hours each day. 'I hated having to sit still, not being able to do anything,' Cheng said. 'How do they come up with this — just nothingness? Nothingness, but also a sea of pain. 'I had no idea what was happening, or how long I would be here.' Outside, fierce diplomatic efforts were underway to gain consular access to her, with Australian officials fighting to get information to her loved ones — including her two children in Melbourne — about where she was and what her condition was. Safeguard Defenders has estimated as many as 113,407 people have been placed into RSDL and later faced trial. After she was formally arrested, Cheng was taken out of RSDL and moved into a larger cell with three other women. She stayed there for the remainder of her detention. Cheng and her cellmates were still subjected to 24-hour surveillance, but at least she was not alone, and a clearer picture was forming of what had landed her in custody. 'Eight words' As a senior journalist working for state media, she had access to Chinese government releases before they were published, including a major announcement that Beijing was not setting a 2020 GDP target due to uncertainty from the Covid-19 pandemic. Cheng was close friends with a reporter at Bloomberg, Haze Fan. The journalists shared their sources with each other. Cheng said Fan had been pushing for a 'series of government reports from me that hadn't been published in order to break the story at Bloomberg'. 'And I wanted to help her, because she had helped me,' Cheng said. 'When I told her the eight words which were 'no growth target', 'GDP', nine million jobs target' at 7:23am, I thought that would help her break the story, which they did.' She sent the text just seven minutes before the announcement was published. 'The charge was supplying state secrets to foreign entities, which boils down to texting eight words, seven minutes before the embargo (lifted), to my friend at Bloomberg,' Cheng said. Cheng was detained during a low point in Australia's relationship with China. Former prime minister Scott Morrison had infuriated Beijing when he backed an inquiry into the origins of coronavirus. China's ambassador at the time warned Australia's push for a probe was 'dangerous'. Soon after, tariffs were slapped on Australian goods, leading to a years-long trade war that has only recently eased, with the Albanese government unlocking $20bn worth of trade. Cheng's incarceration has been broadly seen as being part of China's efforts to pressure Australia. She was only released as ties with China began to normalise in late 2023. Cheng made clear the suffering she endured as a pawn in a geopolitical game. 'You don't know if you'll ever see your family again, because you don't know what they (the Chinese government) want,' she said. 'You don't know how everything you've done that you thought was good was now possibly criminal. 'Everything that made you happy or gave you pleasure now just was so far, is so removed from you. It was a cause of pain.'
News.com.au
21 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Teen bashed at Melbourne party as shoes stolen from his feet
A shocking video shows the moment a teen was bashed before his shoes were ripped off his feet by gatecrashers at a party in Melbourne's outer suburbs — with the terrified family of the 18-year-old victim now planning to leave the city. Three men in black hoods were gathered around the victim as one of the masked attackers held the young man up against a wall and punched him in the face, the sickening video circulated on social media shows. The victim could then be seen being kicked and punched while on the ground as another attacker took the white sneakers off his feet. The mother of the 18-year-old victim told her son was left with a broken eye socket and serious head injuries. She said her teen was at a friend's birthday party and did not know his attackers. He was going out the back door to get his jumper just after midnight when he was targetted, she said. She explained that her son was knocked unconcious and an ambulance was called, but after waiting an hour, her husband put him in the car and took him to hospital himself. She understands the group had gone after other party-goers. 'This has to stop. Our kids need to feel safe,' she said, explaining her reasoning for speaking out. 'This is unacceptable. My son is a really good kid. He's not a trouble maker ... Normal kids are getting caught up in this violence.' has agreed not named the victim or his family. The family were planning to move interstate in a few months but will now be bringing that move forward as they don't feel safe. When they contacted Victims of Crime, a Victorian government-funded support service, they were told it would take a few days to get a call back. The service offers support for victims in reporting a crime, understanding their rights and the justice process, getting legal advice and applying for financial help and compensation. Liberal member for the Eastern Victoria Region Renee Heath described the group that attacked the 18-year-old as as a 'gang of masked offenders' who had crashed the party. Dr Heath spoke with the victim's mother on the phone on Monday morning. 'Her family is traumatised,' Dr Heath said. '(The victim) — an 18-year-old about to begin a pre-apprenticeship — is known in the community as one of the kindest young men you could meet. An Aboriginal Australian, he always saw the good in others. 'This cowardly, public attack has changed the course of his life. (He) was violently attacked at a party by a gang of masked offenders who gatecrashed the event. They filmed themselves gleefully kicking and punching him unconscious, then stole his shoes and clothes. The footage was posted online — as if it were a badge of honour. 'No parent should have to watch their child suffer like this — especially in an attack so brazen, so public, and so celebrated by its perpetrators.' Social media users have described the video as 'disturbing' and 'chilling' to watch. Victoria Police confirmed they were investigating an assault and robbery in the early hours of Sunday and no arrests had been made. 'It is understood a man was involved in an altercation with a group of male offenders outside a property on Corymbia Promenade about 12.15am,' a police statement said. 'The group assaulted him, punching him and then kicking him when he was on the ground. Officers were told they stole his shoes and attempted to steal his mobile phone. 'The victim, an 18-year-old Pakenham man, sustained non-life-threatening injuries.' The victim's mother denied her son was involved in an altercation before he was attacked. Police said the group and others at the party dispersed when officers arrived at the house. The believe three of the offenders then approached a second victim, a 16-year-old Pakenham boy, nearby on Mountford Rise. 'They stole his phone, bag and clothing items before fleeing the scene,' police said. Dr Heath claimed that at least one of the attackers was allegedly already known to the police. Still, Victoria Police would not confirm this to when asked, stating that the case was in the early stages of investigation. Anyone who witnessed the incident and has dashcam/CCTV footage or information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit Dr Heath took the opportunity to slam the state government over its handling of violent crime, which she said was 'out of control'. 'The entire community is watching to see what the Allan Labor Government will do next,' the politician said. 'Because if offenders can livestream violence while victims are left to recover alone, what message does that send?' Labor MP Emma Vulin, who is the member for Pakenham, labelled the incident 'despicable behaviour'. 'The Allan Labor Government is continuing to back Victoria Police with the resources they need to protect Victorians and prevent crime,' she said. 'Our tough new bail laws are also now in effect, and the recent remand numbers show that they are clearly working.'
News.com.au
21 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Erin Patterson trial: Alleged mushroom poisoner called to give evidence by her defence
The woman at the centre of a deadly mushroom lunch in the small Victorian dairy town of Leongatha has taken the stand at her triple-murder trial. Erin Patterson, 50, is facing trial accused of deliberately poisoning a beef Wellington lunch she hosted for her estranged husband's parents and aunt and uncle on July 29, 2023. The mother of two was charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, after Don Patterson, his wife Gail Patterson and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson died from organ failure in the week after the meal. Heather's husband, Korumburra Baptist Church long-serving pastor Ian Wilkinson, fell critically ill but recovered. Ms Patterson has pleaded not guilty, with her defence arguing that while the lunch did contain poisonous mushrooms, she did not intentionally poison anyone and the case is actually a tragic accident. On Monday afternoon, after Crown prosecutor Nannette Rogers SC closed the prosecution case with a series of agreed facts, trial judge Justice Christopher Beale turned to Ms Patterson's defence. Barrister Colin Mandy SC rose to his feet and informed the court; 'the defence will call Erin Patterson'. After a short break, jurors returned to the packed Latrobe Valley courtroom, in the town of Morwell, as Ms Patterson began to answer questions about her relationship, struggles with her weight, religious beliefs, motherhood and the lead up to the fatal lunch. Over the following 45 minutes, before the case was adjourned for the day, Ms Patterson kept her eyes fixed on her lawyer as she answered dozens of personal questions. Her voice started off soft, growing in volume and confidence as the minutes ticked over but faulted once when talking about the 'very traumatic' birth of her son in January 2009. Frequently, she would pause for a second or two, her eyes closed, before answering a question. Ms Patterson told the jury she first met her husband Simon Patterson when the pair were working at the Monash City Council in Melbourne in 2004. She said they first began socialising through friends at the council, but the relationship grew deeper through 'conversations about life, religion and politics' while camping together. Describing herself then as a 'fundamental atheist', she said she sought to convert her Christian boyfriend before attending a service from Ian. 'I had a religious experience there and it quite overwhelmed me,' she said. Ms Patterson said she developed a close relationship with Don and Gail and was walked down the aisle by Simon's cousin, David Wilkinson, in June 2007 because her parents were on a train in Russia. Soon after the couple hit the open road, 'meandering' across the country before settling for a time in Perth. Here she said she fell pregnant and their son was born, before continuing their road trip across the top end. After months on the road, Ms Patterson said she'd 'had a gutful' and flew from Townsville back to Perth and the couple separated for the first time. 'What we struggled with over the entire course of our relationship… we just couldn't communicate well when we disagreed about something,' she said. 'So we would just feel hurt and not know how to resolve it.' Ms Patterson is expected to return to the witness box when the hearing resumes on Tuesday. The trial continues.
