Woman in China must use colostomy bag for life after 16 violent assaults by husband over 2-year period damaged multiple internal organs
- Woman alleges husband beat her multiple times, including when pregnant, the last time so violently she almost died
- Final attack came after she applied for a divorce and caused severe damage to her internal organs and stomach, requiring 2 months in hospital
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Police in China have arrested a man accused of violently abusing his wife so savagely that she has to wear a colostomy bag for the rest of her life.
The 29-year-old woman, surnamed Xie, from Sichuan province in southwestern China, revealed on mainland social media on June 28, that her husband, He Zhongyang, physically assaulted her on 16 occasions during the two years they lived together as a married couple, Feidian Video reported.
In the video news story, Xie is seen lying in a hospital with an oxygen tube inserted into her right nostril, bandages wrapped around her waist and abdomen, and a colostomy bag attached to her body.
Xie said that when she married He two years ago, she was unaware he had a previous history of violence towards his first wife.
However, when Xie became pregnant two months after their wedding, he started hitting her.
“When I was seven months pregnant, he beat me for the second time,” Xie said in the video.
Xie decided to get a divorce after the second attack but said that every time she raised the subject, He became angry, and she soon abandoned the plan out of fear it would provoke another attack.
“I probably would have suffered more domestic abuse,” she said.
According to Xie, she has been assaulted by He at least 16 times, five of which she described as severe.
The final and most violent attack occurred in April this year when Xie finally summoned the courage to file divorce papers and apply for a protection order against her husband.
When He learned of the plan from his family, he confronted her at their home and violently attacked her again.
Despite the severe nature of her injuries, He did not call for an ambulance or take her to the hospital until almost noon the next day.
Doctors told Xie that she was admitted just in time and could have died if she had arrived just 20 minutes later.
She had to spend two months in hospital recovering from her injuries.
“The internal injuries were the problem. My organs, such as the small intestine, liver, kidneys and stomach, were damaged, and there were some bruises,” Xie said.
“My duodenum was permanently damaged, so I must wear a colostomy bag for the rest of my life.”
He is currently in criminal detention following his arrest by police.
Xie’s story has gone viral on mainland media after she shared the details publicly. At the time of writing, the Weibo news post had received almost 10,000 comments.
One person said: “Oh Jesus, the wound was bigger than mine after a caesarean birth. Was it domestic violence? It was attempted murder.”
Another said: “A marriage certificate is not a death-exemption medal, it was intentional, and a hefty sentence is needed.”
Domestic violence routinely makes the headlines in China.
In June 2022, a woman who was seven months pregnant revealed her boyfriend regularly assaulted her, shocking mainland social media.
In 2021, a man in southwestern China urged authorities to arrest his father four months after his mother died from burn injuries.
Sohu News reported earlier this year that 30 per cent of families in China experienced some form of domestic violence in 2022, with 22.9 per cent of the perpetrators being men and 19.9 per cent women.
The All-China Women’s Federation, a women’s rights organisation closely associated with the government, found that in 2021, 30 per cent of married women in China had experienced domestic violence.
