- Joined
- Apr 9, 2009
- Messages
- 3,070
- Points
- 0
ABDUCTED, sold, and forced to be beggars.
This might not be news to many in China but the issue is making waves once again due to some disturbing revelations.
The epicentre of the child beggar syndicate has been traced to Gongxiao village in Anhui province, where villagers depend on the trade to make money.
According to various news reports in China, the villagers have been plying this trade for over a decade and made quite a fortune from it.
The cycle is vicious - numerous kids are sold to the villagers, who then mutilate their limbs, chain and lock them up in cages at night, and eventually sell or rent them to various cities in China to beg.
Renting a child beggar costs 3,000 yuan (S$580) a year and buying one costs 6,000 yuan (S$1,161), said a report in news.163.com.
Some of these children end up seeking vengeance when they grow up, by forcing other children into the same fate as theirs.
A report from BTV Beijing described the torture methods in which the children are subjected to.
A child would stay in a house for around a month to be "trained".
During this period, he or she will be hit repeatedly.
As if this was not cruel enough, some of them have their limbs, body or face disfigured with knives or even acid.
Shin Min Daily News reported that in 1993, Gongxiao village became a "professional" beggar village ever since a disabled villager made a fortune from begging.
This caused other villagers to start training children to beg so that they could pocket the money.
They initially borrowed children from neighbouring villages, but eventually expanded the trade by abducting children all over China - those who were already disabled were priority.
Some disabled children were given up by their own parents, said an elderly man from Gongxiao village.
"It's a burden to have a disabled child at home and some parents can't wait to get rid of them," said the man.
Over the past years, the reliance on child beggars has allowed some villagers to build two or three storey luxurious houses, which can be seen throughout the village.
Some of the villagers have even installed cable television and erected stone lions at their gates.
A reporter who visited the village witnessed how "trendy" the villagers were - they were dressed in suits and thick jackets; a woman was spotted wearing a branded down jacket with pointy leather heels.
According to news.163.com, the authorities were able to detain only some of the people behind the syndicate but not all.
No action has been taken as well, as there are simply too many people involved.
