Detained family planning violators rescued by police
Print Edition
POLICE have rescued four people, including a 10-month-old infant, who were allegedly confined in a room for five days by the family planning authorities in east China for having more than one child.
A reporter filmed the police rescue and uploaded it on the internet that angered netizens across the country.
One of the villagers, 39-year-old Zhang Yongling of Linyi City’s Nanquanzi Village in Shandong Province, told thepaper.cn that she was locked in a hostel room with two steel doors and four locks with her newborn child and other villagers for 120 hours. She said the family planning officials demanded 140,000 yuan (US$22,669) as fines for violating the law.
“Thank you police officers … my child is 10-month old..,” a tearful Zhang told police.
Zhang’s husband, Liu Tao, said he and his wife were first taken away by eight officials from the Tuanlin Town Family Planning Service Center on November 18 after they could not pay the fine. They were released on November 22 but his wife Zhang was taken in again. He then along with other villagers approached the police on November 25.
Liu claimed the illegally detained villagers also had to pay 300 yuan per day as living expenses to the hostel.
Another rescued villager Tang Jingyin, 43, said he was detained after his wife gave birth to their third child. Tang’s first child is mentally disabled.
“There is no way I could pay such a huge amount even if I sold my house and everything else at home,” Tang said.
Two other villagers were held with Zhang and Tang because their daughter “violated the family planning law.”
Wang Xiufeng, one of the family planning officials, told thepaper.cn that he was ordered by his superiors to act against them but denied detaining them. “I was just a driver. I know nothing,” Wang said. However, Liu claimed Wang took him and his wife away and even beat him.
A deputy director with the center, surnamed Shao, also denied holding back villagers.
There have been previous reports of detention as well. A villager surnamed Wang in Lihang Village claimed she was kept in custody for 7 days because his sister violated the law. According to China’s family planning law, those who violate the law must pay a social maintenance fee, but officials must first approach the local court to enforce the fine.
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