53 and cigarette burns; iii) hooding/blindfolding; iv) guard-instructed or permitted beatings by fellow prisoners; v) use of handcuffs or ankle fetters for extended periods; vi) submersion in pits of water or sewage; vii) exposure to conditions of extreme heat or cold; viii) being forced to maintain uncomfortable positions; ix) deprivation of sleep, food or water; x) prolonged solitary confinement; xi) denial of medical treatment and medication; xii) hard labour and others.122 156. Furthermore, in a 2002 report the former Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Asma Jahangir, expressed particular alarm over reports describing a large number of cases in which detainees had died as a result of severe ill-treatment, neglect or lack of medical attention in China.123 The CAT also voiced its concern over the detention conditions in China and the many deaths possibly associated with torture or ill-treatment.124 Former Special Rapporteur Manfred Nowak also observed that Chinese law contains no provisions establishing prisoners’ rights to independent medical examinations.125 157. Another troubling matter is the use of confessions coerced under torture. Former Special Rapporteur Manfred Nowak commented that the rules of evidence create incentives for interrogators to obtain confessions through torture.126 Here, the CAT underscored the continued allegations of routine and widespread use of torture and ill-treatment of suspects in police custody, especially to extract confessions or information to be used in criminal proceedings.127 The CAT pointed out that confessions continue to be used as evidence, which only encourages the practice of the detainee torture and mistreatment.128 158. Similarly, former Special Rapportuer Manfred Nowak commented that in China, the use of confessions extracted through torture as evidence before the courts is not explicitly prohibited, as required by Article 15 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading 122 UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Mission to China. E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.6, March 10, 2006, paragraph 45, available at: http://daccess-ddsny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G06/117/50/PDF/G0611750.pdf?OpenElement 123 UN, Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, Report Civil and Political Rights, including questions of: disappearances and summary executions. E/CN.4/2002/74, January 9, 2002, paragraph 34, available at: http://www.unhchr.ch/huridocda/huridoca.nsf/(Symbol)/E.CN.4.2002.74.En?Opendocument 124 UN, Committee against Torture, Concluding observations, China. CAT/C/CHN/CO/4, December 12, 2008, paragraph 17, available at: http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G08/457/10/PDF/G0845710.pdf?OpenElement 125 UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Mission to China. E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.6, March 10, 2006, paragraph 26, available at: http://daccess-ddsny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G06/117/50/PDF/G0611750.pdf?OpenElement 126 UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Mission to China. E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.6, March 10, 2006, paragraph 73, available at: http://daccess-ddsny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G06/117/50/PDF/G0611750.pdf?OpenElement 127 UN, Committee against Torture, Concluding observations, China. CAT/C/CHN/CO/4, December 12, 2008, paragraph 11, available at: http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G08/457/10/PDF/G0845710.pdf?OpenElement 128 UN, Committee against Torture, Concluding observations, China. CAT/C/CHN/CO/4, December 12, 2008, paragraph 11, available at: http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G08/457/10/PDF/G0845710.pdf?OpenElement