A grocer in the southern province of Hunan has kept his wife locked in a room in his house for the past 12 years, saying she has gone mad and he cannot afford hospital treatment for her.
Following interviews with the local press and radio, Yu Ronggui, 48, talked to the South China Morning Post about his situation. He lives in a 320 sq ft apartment in the provincial capital, Changsha, and said his wife, Lin Yi, 36, went mad after giving birth to their son in 1990.
'After she went mad, she started to scream at people, often took the baby out and did not come back. To prevent her injuring and killing people and for her safety and that of the baby, I had no choice but to lock her in her room since Spring Festival in 1991,' Mr Yu said.
'I could not find the reason for the madness and we have no money in the family to pay for treatment. So I locked her in the room.'
Mr Yu said he lost his job in 1995 at a local electric appliance factory and received no severance pay. Since then, he has earned 100 yuan (HK$94) a month from selling goods at a small shop at the front of his house. He also receives 450 yuan a month in welfare.
He has five brothers, all out of work, while his wife's three brothers farm land and provide only a little money to help.
