A Chinese man has been sentenced to nine years in prison for the abuse of a female victim of human trafficking. In early 2022, the mother of eight was found chained in a hut in eastern China. The “chained woman” scandal has shocked both China and the international community.
Dong Zhimin, a 56-year-old villager from Jiangsu Province, was found guilty on charges of abuse and unlawful detention by a city court in Xuzhou City of Jiangsu on April 7. Another five individuals involved in abducting, trafficking, and selling the “chained woman” were sentenced to between eight and thirteen years in prison.
The video of the “chained woman” went viral on Chinese social media on the eve of the Chinese New Year in January, 2022. It showed that a woman in Feng County of Xuzhou city was chained in a cold, doorless hut, with a locked chain around her neck, and mumbling, “This world doesn’t want me anymore.” It was later revealed that the “chained woman” was a victim of human trafficking: She had been bought by the Dong family and detained for 20 years, and gave birth to 8 children in total. She was also suffering from mental problems due to the long years of abuse. Local officials had issued a marriage certificate between the “chained woman” and one of the men in the Dong family—Dong Zhimin….