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Elderly Chinese woman rescued three days after being ‘buried alive by son’

  • Police in Shaanxi province dug up 79-year-old from grave in woods after suspect’s wife tipped them off
  • Woman is now in a stable condition in hospital while her son is facing an attempted murder charge

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The woman was rescued from the grave in Shaanxi province after three days. Photo: Handout
Zhuang Pinghui

A man in northwest China has been detained after his 79-year-old mother was buried alive.

The woman, who was partially paralysed, was rescued after three days and is in a stable condition in a hospital in Shaanxi province, police said.

Prosecutors in Jingbian county said the woman’s son, a 58-year-old identified only by his surname Ma, had been charged with attempted murder.

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On Tuesday his wife told local police that Ma had taken the bedridden woman named Wang away on a cart and she had not returned home.

Police said the man had confessed to burying her in the woods and she was rescued later that day.

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The elderly woman is now recovering in hospital. Photo: Handout
The elderly woman is now recovering in hospital. Photo: Handout

“Ma was there when police were digging up the two metre deep grave. He didn’t say anything or respond when he saw his mother was still alive,” an unidentified Jingbian police official told news portal Thepaper.cn.

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