What’s new: The man who left his wife and mother of his eight children shackled to a wall in rural eastern China has been sentenced to nine years in prison in a case that sparked outrage about domestic abuse and human trafficking in the countryside.
Dong Zhimin, the husband of the “shackled mother,” was convicted of abuse and illegal detention, a local court said in a statement Friday. Five others were sentenced to prison terms ranging from eight to 13 years for abducting the woman.
The court said Dong caused the 45-year-old woman to suffer from irreversible schizophrenia. From July 2017 to early last year, Dong abused her while keeping her chained or tied up with cloth rope. He also denied her adequate food and warm clothing and made her live in the dark with no water or electricity.
Five of the offenders including Dong pleaded guilty in the court in Xuzhou, East China’s Jiangsu province, which heard the high-profile case in April, according to the statement.
The background: Early last year, a video showing the woman, identified by authorities as “Xiaohuamei,” shackled to the wall of a shed in Xuzhou’s Feng county sent shockwaves across the country, leading to a series of official investigations.
In February 2022, authorities said Xiaohuamei had been abducted from her hometown in 1998 and sold at least three times before ending up with Dong. They said they had arrested Dong on charges of abusing a family member. They also arrested or detained eight people suspected of being involved in the human trafficking chain.
Contact reporter Wang Xintong (xintongwang@caixin.com) and editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)
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