Light penalties meted out for hysterectomies

The head of a welfare home in Jiangsu who sent two mentally retarded girls to hospitals for hysterectomies last year has been handed a suspended one-year jail sentence, the Hong Kong China News Agency reported yesterday.

Another official from the welfare home in Nantong, Miao Kairong, and two doctors were put on probation for six months.

They were convicted of intentionally inflicting bodily harm but received light sentences because the court ruled the crime was 'not serious' and they harboured little 'subjective malevolence'.

The court heard the head of the welfare home, Chen Xiaoyan, had suggested removing the uteruses of the girls so they would be easier to manage. The decision to go ahead with the hysterectomies was then made by Miao, the report said.

The incident stirred a controversy after it was exposed on mainland chat rooms in April last year. The postings said the two girls, about 14, were sent to a hospital after being told they were to have appendectomies.

Welfare home officials reportedly said they believed the operation could make their jobs easier because the girls had just started to menstruate and were causing problems.