Woman jailed for abuse of 7-year-old

A stepmother surnamed Sun who abused her 7-yearold son was sentenced to 16 years in prison for intentional injury and abuse at Linwei District People’s Court in Shaanxi province on Tuesday.

During the trial, Sun, from Weinan, Shaanxi, said she had “disciplined” her son, Pengpeng, by binding him with electric wire and hitting him with a bamboo stick, but refused to explain the boy’s severe injuries, including multiple skull fractures and a detached retina, according to thepaper.cn.

Deng Xueping, Pengpeng’s attorney agent, said the boy suffered long-term abuse and assault, which led to serious injury and his current persistent vegetative state.

On March 29, 2017, Pengpeng was sent to the hospital and was diagnosed with a skull fracture, broken ribs, retinal detachment in both eyes and skin eruptions. Afterward, Sun was detained by police on suspicion of abuse. On Nov 15, the People’s Procuratorate of Linwei began its prosecution of her.

Sun told the court that Pengpeng had been washing his face as she was picking up clothes. She heard a noise and found him lying on the ground. She helped him up and washed his face, but later Pengpeng fell again. Then he was sent to the hospital, she said.

Sun said she didn’t assault the boy often but only two or three times to discipline him. However, she didn’t answer questions posed by Deng, the attorney agent, about reasons for the boy’s serious injuries to his skull and ribs and about the scars on his wrists, ankles and thighs.

Deng also noted that Sun had confessed to the police earlier that she had bound Pengpeng with wires, hit him with a stick and made him kneel for punishment — details that were confirmed by Sun during the trial. But she said the kneeling lasted for less than 30 minutes rather one or two hours.

Prosecutors presented a number of pictures showing numerous scars on Pengpeng’s face and buttocks, which Sun claimed were inflicted by the boy’s natural father, surnamed Zhao. However, Zhao told the police he had witnessed Sun assaulting the boy several times.

Sun stated that she had used physical violence on Pengpeng since March 2017 for the purpose of “discipline”, and her educational methods went wrong but she never thought of hurting him.

According to the verdict, in March last year Sun assaulted Pengpeng repeatedly with her hands, feet and a stick on the pretext that the boy had stolen her ring. Multiple injuries resulted. On March 29 last year, Sun beat Pengpeng’s head continuously, claiming that the boy had soiled the bed, the court said.