Chinese doctor who warned about coronavirus was sent chilling letter and questioned for three days by cops
A Chinese doctor, hailed as a hero for trying to warn the world about coronavirus, was sent a chilling letter by the police before he died, reports state. The 34-year-old doctor, identified as Li Wenliang, was warned by authorities that "if he refused to repent, he would be punished" just days before he became a victim of the deadly new coronavirus.
Wenliang died on February 7 after contracting coronavirus from the patients he was treating. The doctor was one of eight people being probed by police for "rumor-mongering" about coronavirus, which has infected over 35,000 people and claimed more than 800 lives in China alone.
The police, in the letter, wrote: "If you insist on your views, refuse to repent and continue the illegal activity, you will be punished by the law. Do you understand?"
Wenliang was working at Wuhan Central Hospital as an ophthalmologist and was among the first to raise alarm to fellow medics about the deadly virus on December 30, 2019. He sent a message to nearly 150 medics on popular messaging platform WeChat, saying: "Seven confirmed SARS cases were found in Huanan Fruit and Seafood Market. [The patients] were in quarantine in the Houhu Branch of our hospital."
One user responded to the message, saying: "So frightening," and asked if SARS, which began in China in 2002 and claimed 800 lives, was coming again.
Officials from the health authority in Wuhan, however, summoned Wenliang in the middle of the night, and demanded to know why he had shared the information. Wuhan is the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. Nearly three days after questioning, police officials forced him to sign a statement about his "illegal behavior" as authorities attempted to keep the outbreak under wraps, according to the Sun.
The doctor was allowed to return to work as the virus rapidly spread among the population in Wuhan city. Despite being gagged, Wenliang, on January 10, took to the popular social media site Weibo to let the world know that he had developed a fever. By the end of the month, the 34-year-old was diagnosed with coronavirus.
Shortly after Wenliang passed away, Beijing ruled his death as "work injury" and his family was paid £90,000 in compensation. Chinese authorities have launched a crackdown on whistleblowers like Wenliang and has threatened people with up to seven years in prison if they are caught spreading "rumors" on social media.