China's 'Soesalnyeo' Husband Sentenced to 9 Years for 'Abuse and Confinement'

Gave Birth to 8 Children After Being Trafficked 3 Times
Revealed to the World Through Blogger Video Last January

The husband of the victim in the so-called 'Chain Woman' case, which shocked Chinese society last year, has been sentenced to nine years in prison.

According to foreign media including Bloomberg on the 7th, the Xuzhou Court in Jiangsu Province announced in a statement posted on social media (SNS) that Dong Zemin (56), the husband of Xiao Huamei (46), who gave birth to eight children, was sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of abusing and illegally detaining her. The court pointed out, "Dong Zemin's crime is heinous," and "his abusive practices caused serious harm to Xiao Huamei's health." The court also announced that five others accused of human trafficking of women were sentenced to prison terms ranging from eight to thirteen years.

Xiaohuamei with a metal chain around her neck
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The 'Chain Woman case' became known to the world in January last year when a Chinese blogger posted a video on SNS showing Xiao Huamei with her neck chained in a shack in Feng County, Xuzhou City. Dong Zemin further fueled public outrage by proudly stating in another video that he had eight children with her. Since then, the case has been referred to as the 'Mother of Eight Children case' or the 'Chain Woman case,' becoming a symbol revealing the reality of human trafficking in rural areas of China.

However, at that time, the Beijing Winter Olympics were taking place in China, and the authorities only announced the investigation results after the Olympics ended, which worsened public opinion. Moreover, the initial denial of human trafficking or kidnapping by the authorities, followed by a late admission, also sparked controversy.

The investigation revealed that Xiao Huamei was trafficked three times in 1998 before living with Dong Zemin, and from 2017, when symptoms of schizophrenia appeared, she was subjected to harsh treatment such as having her neck chained and being left outside in the cold without food. It was found that during the first trafficking incident, she was sold for 5,000 yuan (approximately 940,000 KRW). The authorities dismissed or demoted 17 officials, including the Party Secretary of Feng County, for dereliction of duty and releasing false information.

Bloomberg reported, "Although more than a year has passed since the incident, public interest in China remains high," adding, "The sentencing news became the top trending topic on China's SNS Weibo and recorded about 500 million views within a few hours." It also noted that "Chinese netizens reacted by saying the sentence was too light compared to what Dong Zemin did to Xiao Huamei."

Xiao Huamei has not appeared publicly since being hospitalized last year. A former lawyer revealed on Weibo in January that villagers in the village where Xiao Huamei lived blocked her from entering the village. The Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua only reported that Xiao Huamei's condition is improving with treatment but did not conduct interviews or release photos of her.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.