Jail for husband, traffickers in China’s ‘chained woman’ case
- Xiaohuamei was found shackled in a shed in appalling conditions early last year
- A court orders the people who sold her and kept her captive to between eight and 13 years behind bars
The Xuzhou Intermediate People’s Court in Jiangsu province ordered Dong Zhimin to serve 6½ years for abuse of the woman known as Xiaohuamei, or “little plum blossom”, and three years for illegal detention, state news agency Xinhua reported on Friday.
The court also ordered five other defendants convicted of trafficking Xiaohuamei to serve terms ranging from eight to 13 years. They were also fined, the report said, without disclosing the amount.
The verdict comes more than a year after footage of a dazed middle-aged woman standing in a shed with chains around her neck began circulating on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.
The footage gained national attention and public sympathy for the shocking conditions the woman was found living in.
According to the sentencing decision, Dong tied Xiaohuamei up with clothes and a chain around her neck without enough food, water, electricity, and sunlight, inflicting physical and mental suffering.
Xiaohuamei had also given birth to eight children – all of them fathered by Dong. The first child was born in 1999 and the others between 2011 and 2020.
Xinhua reported that Xiaohuamei had received medical care over the past year and her condition was stable. Xiaohuamei’s children who are still minors are receiving government assistance and attending school, according to the report.