"A hundred years is the first, and everything starts well." The Spring Festival is the most grand festival of the Chinese nation. However, on the eve of the national people's celebration of this important festival, on January 28, 2022, a video of "Eight Child Mother Imprisoned in Earth House by Iron Chain" was widely disseminated in various major media, causing a sudden uproar and continuous fermentation, which touched the hearts of the entire people.

 

In the face of fierce public opinion and online public sentiment, the municipal and county governments of Xuzhou have also successively made public responses, but the social heat of this incident still seems to have not eased. Because this incident is related to the good and evil of human nature, the development of civilization, and the rule of law in the country. Of course, it is not yet possible to reach a final conclusion about the truth of the incident. There are still many doubtful points that need further in-depth investigation by relevant departments. However, the public expects an objective and fair fact, pursues a convincing conclusion, and expects a legitimate and reasonable outcome. As for the final disclosure of the truth, it is advisable to "let the bullets fly for a while", but the legal community can boldly discuss the legal issues that may be involved behind the incident.

 

1、 Event context review

 

The current situation of the mother of 8 children, Yang Mouxia, is about 37 or 8 years old. She was mentally disordered before marriage, and later she went to exile to have 8 children in a row. Her first child was born at the age of 14. Yang Mouxia now has no teeth and cannot speak normally.

January 28, 2022

 

The local women's federation said it was following the video of "Eight child mother imprisoned in an earthen house with an iron chain around her neck.".

 

January 28, 2022

 

The Propaganda Department of the Fengxian County Party Committee released a "Fact Sheet" stating that Yang Mouxia is suffering from mental illness and has been treated. There is no kidnapping and trafficking, and the specific situation is under further investigation and verification.

 

January 30, 2022

 

Jiang Shengnan, a deputy to the National People's Congress, wrote that he had reported public opinion to relevant leaders.

 

January 30, 2022

 

The Fengxian County Joint Investigation Team released an Investigation Report stating that Yang Mouxia was taken in by Dong Moumin's father and lived with Dong Moumin. In his life, he was found to have intellectual disabilities, but he was still able to take care of himself. Up to now, there is no kinship information compared to China. The investigation also found no abductions and trafficking. The public security organ will continue to conduct in-depth investigation of their identity information. Since June 2021, Yang Mouxia's condition has worsened. To prevent Yang Mouxia from injuring others when he becomes ill, Dong Moumin temporarily used chains to restrain his behavior. After his mental state stabilized, he removed the chains.

 

February 7, 2022

 

The joint investigation team of Xuzhou Municipal Party Committee and Government announced the "Investigation Progress", stating that Yang Mouxia was a native of Yagu Village, Fugong County, Yunnan Province, formerly known as Xiaohua Mei. Xiaohua Mei married to Baoshan City, Yunnan Province in 1994, and returned to Yagu Village after divorce in 1996. At that time, she had demonstrated abnormal speech behavior. Sang Moumou (female, who had already married to Donghai County, Jiangsu Province) was entrusted by Xiaohua Mei's mother to take Xiaohua Mei to Jiangsu for treatment, and wanted to find a good family to marry. After arriving in Donghai County, Jiangsu Province by train from Kunming City, Yunnan Province, the two people lost Xiaohuamei. They did not call the police or inform Xiaohuamei's family. The follow-up investigation will be released in due course.

 

2、 Relevant subjects and legal issues that may be involved in this event

 

（1） Young Xia, who has been exiled to another country, may be involved in the crime of trafficking in human beings behind his back

 

Although relevant departments in Fengxian County and Xuzhou City reported that there was no kidnapping and trafficking in the incident, from the relevant information disclosed on the website, there are still many doubts about how Yang Mouxia was exiled to Fengxian County. For example, it is rumored on the internet that Yang Mouxia is the missing female "Li Ying" in Nanchong, Sichuan Province, but the official investigation has not yet verified this; Among Dong Moumin's eight children, there is only one girl, and there is a 10-year long reproductive gap between the eldest and the second, which is suspicious; According to the current official report, Dong Moumin's father was deceased and Xiaohua Mei's parents were deceased. So, is it reliable to rely solely on other people's memories that have been separated for more than 20 years to reflect the situation; What kind of relationship and trust makes Yang's parents willing to hand over their daughter to others and leave their hometown; wait.

 

At present, based on (but not limited to) the above doubts, at least the possibility of Yang's Xia family being abducted and trafficked cannot be ruled out. In addition, according to the records of "Jiangsu Provincial Annals - Trial Annals", in the 1990s, Xuzhou was originally a high incidence area of human trafficking crimes, which to some extent led to people linking the incident with the crime of human trafficking. Of course, whether all this is true or not requires further in-depth investigation and investigation.

 

（2） Dong Mou's Father and Son or Involved in the Crime of Buying Abducted Women and Children

 

If Yang Mouxia is indeed abducted and sold to Fengxian County, Xuzhou, then Dong Mou's father and son are likely to be involved in the crime of bribing the abducted women and children, because the crime of kidnapping and selling women and children and the crime of bribing the abducted women and children belong to common adversaries, and as long as the former exists, the latter can often be established. Therefore, for this crime, Dong Moumin may face the consequences of up to three years of imprisonment, detention, or public surveillance. Of course, regarding this point, the premise also lies in examining whether the above-mentioned facts of the crime of kidnapping and trafficking in human beings against Yang Mouxia are tenable. In addition, considering that it has been more than 20 years since the incident occurred, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive investigation in combination with other facts as to whether the statute of limitations has expired for the crime of bribing abducted women and children.

 

（3） Dong Yimin may also be suspected of committing illegal crimes such as rape, illegal detention, and maltreatment

 

The content of Article 241 of the Criminal Law is as follows:

 

Whoever buys an abducted woman or child shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or public surveillance.

 

Whoever buys an abducted and trafficked woman and forcibly has sexual relations with her shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions of Article 236 of this Law.

 

Whoever buys an abducted woman or child, unlawfully deprives or restricts their personal freedom, or commits criminal acts such as injury or insult, shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the relevant provisions of this Law.

 

Whoever buys an abducted woman or child and commits the criminal acts specified in the second or third paragraphs shall be punished in accordance with the provisions on combined punishment for several crimes.

 

Whoever buys an abducted woman or child and then sells it shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions of Article 240 of this Law.

 

"Whoever buys an abducted woman or child, does not maltreat the abducted child, and does not hinder the rescue of the abducted child, may be given a lighter punishment;"; "If, according to the wishes of the purchased woman, it does not hinder her from returning to her original place of residence, a lighter or mitigated punishment may be imposed.".

 

For women, buying abducted women and children is commonly referred to as "buying a daughter-in-law." Generally speaking, what the buyer seeks is to have sexual relations with the abducted woman, so the buyer inevitably triggers the crime of rape; If a woman resists, she will almost certainly face the fate of being deprived of her freedom, beaten, and insulted. Therefore, the buyer will inevitably trigger the crime of illegal detention, intentional injury, and insult.

 

In this incident, even if Yang Mouxia was not illegally bought by Dong Moumin, the possibility of rape, illegal detention, intentional injury, and other illegal crimes cannot be ruled out. According to the information transmitted online, Yang Mouxia was mentally disordered before marriage. According to relevant judicial interpretations, anyone who knowingly engages in sexual activity with a woman who is mentally ill or demented (to a serious extent) should be punished as rape regardless of the means taken by the criminal. At the same time, no one has the right to illegally detain others, including mentally ill people. "Even if the wife has mental illness, as a husband, she can be sent to a doctor for treatment, but she has no right to take coercive measures such as chaining to" keep in captivity, "which is a serious violation of the law or even a crime.".

 

（4） Relevant government personnel or crimes related to dereliction of duty

 

According to the information transmitted online, Yang Mouxia has been a mentally abnormal teenage girl since he entered Dong Moumin's family. So, how can Dong Moumin and Yang Mouxia successfully handle the marriage registration?

 

In addition, against the background of strict family planning at that time, how could we successfully have eight children and receive numerous large subsidies from the government? According to the "Investigation Report" issued by the Fengxian Joint Investigation Team on January 30th, after Dong and Yang gave birth to one or two children, the town's family planning department implemented birth control measures for them, but they failed due to physical reasons. Dong Moumin has also repeatedly taken different ways to evade the management and service of the family planning department. Since then, the family planning department has not implemented effective birth control measures in a timely manner. Since May 2014, civil affairs, finance and other departments have implemented minimum living allowance and resident medical insurance policies for Dong's family. Every year during the Spring Festival and Mid Autumn Festival, condolence funds are distributed to them. Three children enjoy a living allowance of 750 yuan per person per semester, and two children enjoy a government subsidy of 500 yuan per person per semester. For many years, the village committee has often provided financial assistance for their daily necessities. In 2021, the town government will provide a subsidy of 37000 yuan for the renovation of dilapidated houses to build four new houses. Social caring people have also donated money and goods for them many times. This inevitably makes people wonder: under the circumstances of such blatant illegal births and frequent government subsidies, how could we not discover such a tragic experience of Mr. Yang? Over the years, what kind of attitude and style of work have the relevant departments and staff tolerated and contributed to the continuation of vicious incidents?

 

3、 Write at the end

 

The reason why an event can evoke emotional resonance among the public is that it must have touched the deepest depths of human nature; The reason why an event can attract widespread attention and discussion from all walks of life is that it inevitably touches upon the reflection on society and the desire for civilization; The reason why an event can cause people to continuously question the government's notification is inevitably related to the examination of social governance methods and government credibility.

 

The tragic experience of the mother of eight children, which was discovered 24 years later, is already frightening and tragic in itself, but the current situation remains elusive. The reason why the people continue to question and follow up is because they still maintain a belief and kindness that "the world is clear, and evil does not overwhelm the right". I sincerely hope that relevant departments and judicial organs can take truly effective actions to calm the hearts of the general public and better interpret the socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics in the new era. Let hardship be rare to save, let life be respected, and let civilization flourish, so that we can live up to the prosperity of China!