Judge’s ‘dustbin diplomacy’ sees senior, son reunite
Print Edition
AN elderly woman reduced to living in a dustbin following a family dispute has been taken back by her son, after a judge told him to experience a night living in his mother’s squalid dwelling.
Jin Zhaoshi, an 85-year-old widow from Xuzhou, in China’s eastern Jiangsu Province, had lived with her second son until he died in a car accident in March last year.
Afterward Jin lost her home due to a family dispute, the Yangtze Evening News reported yesterday.
Last June, Jin filed a lawsuit against her second son’s widow and her two surviving sons, asking them to fulfill their family duty in supporting her.
It was agreed that Jin’s second son’s widow and her third son — both of whom farmed Jin’s land — would provide her with a home on alternate months.
But the son soon objected, claiming that his mother and his wife fought.
Jin moved into a 3-square-meter bin just 50 meters from her son’s home, converting it into a makeshift shelter with plastic sheeting to keep the rain out.
The elderly woman fed herself on discarded steamed buns she found on the street and slept under a dirty quilt, said the newspaper.
After mediation, Jin was taken home, but in March was forced out again following a quarrel with her daughter-in-law.
Judge Chen Wei said the court could have the son detained but decided against this as he had suffered a heart attack, and in any case, Chen did not see how this would resolve the situation.
On Monday, Chen visited the son, “ruling” that he stayed in the dustbin overnight with his mother to experience how she lived.
The judge joined them and after an hour of mediation, the son took his mother home.
Last year, under China’s Law on Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Aged, it became illegal to neglect the “spiritual needs” of the elderly.
A clause stipulates that children must visit elderly parents regularly or at very least keep in touch.
Offspring who don’t comply with this clause can face prosecution.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
