A baby girl from a village in Shandong has been rescued by authorities after netizens exposed the abuse by her father on Weibo.
On August 5, a female netizen from Shandong shared pictures on Weibo that showed the bruises on a newborn baby. The pictures were taken in a village in Shandong’s Yinqu county.
The woman, nicknamed ‘Honey River’ (@江的甜蜜), wrote that the baby girl on the pictures is 22 days old and is being abused by her alcoholic father. She also said that the baby’s mother, who is also beaten by her husband, suffers from mental health issues.
“I hope that the relevant departments will come and save this girl’s life!”, she pleaded, asking other netizens to share her message to attract more attention for the case.
Worried about the baby’s safety, many netizens called the police.
Chen Lan (@作家陈岚), author and founder of child care center ‘Small Hope House’ (小希望之家), later posted an update about the case on her Weibo page:
“This morning, netizen @jiangdetianmi exposed how a 22-day-old baby girl in Shandong’s Linyu Wangjiayanyu was beaten by her father, her body purple. Many netizens have already reported this case to the police. The police have responded that the child has currently been brought to the local hospital, where her skin injuries have, for now, been identified as bruising. The abusive father has been summoned. The local women’s federation is looking at the possibilities for foster care. We certainly think that there is no way the child can go back, and we will pay close attention to this case.”
Chen Lan also said the baby’s mother was homeless and mentally ill when the baby’s father picked her from the street and brought her home with him before she became pregnant. “How can we make sure this won’t happen again?”, she wonders: “I’ve dealt with a similar case in the past, and those people had 5 children.”
“How unlucky for this child to be born in such a household,” many netizens say.
“Could I take legal steps to adopt this child?” one woman asks.
Another person comments: “There are many people now who want to adopt a child. The child will find a new home and lead a happy life.”