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SCMP Reporter

Donations exceed $375,000 for teen injured while escaping prostitution gang

The 19-year-old woman from Hubei who broke her back while trying to escape from a prostitution gang in Guangzhou stood unaided yesterday, 10 days after surgery.

After being confined to a bed for a month, Chen Deping yesterday took several slow, unassisted  steps along the corridor of  a Guangdong hospital's orthopaedic ward where she received her operation funded by South China Morning Post readers.

'I no longer have to worry about being handicapped now,' Ms Chen said.

She said she was able to sit up two days ago, but could not walk. She was still not able to bend down yesterday and felt minor pain and weakness in her right leg.

Li Guitao, the doctor overseeing the medical team managing Ms Chen's treatment, said she had recovered very well since the operation on June 22.

He said Ms Chen  would be able to bend at the waist in a few days  after she became accustomed  to the pins inserted into her spine.

He said she could return home at any time, but her recovery would be better if she remained in hospital for another month, a stay that would cost about 10,000 yuan.

'Apart from giving her medication, we can  check on her condition and nurses can  help and instruct her if she stays  here,' Dr Li said.

Ms Chen arrived in the city with hopes of making money for her family, but was raped and forced into sexual slavery by a criminal gang. She jumped from the fifth floor of a rented apartment and broke her back early last month  trying to escape her captors.

Doctors operated on her spine last month after donations flooded in from Post readers touched by her story.

'I will never forget the people who helped me to stand again,' Ms Chen said yesterday. 'They are my second parents. I hope those kind people are healthy and happy for the rest of their lives.'

Ms Chen's boyfriend, Liu Yunlong ,  also expressed his gratitude to the donors.

Ms Chen will need an operation in a year to remove the  rods and pins  in her back, but will then be able to return to work.

The Post had received more than $375,000 from readers by June 26, much more than needed to pay for Ms Chen's operation and rehabilitation, contribute to her living expenses and fund a follow-up operation next year.

The Post is seeking suitable charities to receive the excess money donated so that other people can be helped and is open to suggestions. Readers should check our website, www.scmp.com, for further details and updates. Suggestions should be sent to charities@scmp.com.



Thanks to you, she's back on her feet