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Girl rescued after spending entire life in pigsty

The revelation that an 8-year-old girl in Sichuan Province was forced to live in a pigsty her entire life has sparked public outcry over the local community's neglect.

Xiao Zhong (pseudonym) was rescued by a local official and is currently receiving medical treatment for brain paralysis after having lived in a pig pen near her family's home ever since she was born.

Her living conditions, compounded with malnutrition and illness, have left her weighing only 7 kilograms and unable to speak, people.com.cn reported on Wednesday

"I saw a girl in the sty covered with a shabby blanket and a red hat. She was caught in between some stones and seemed unable to move," said Peng Liying, deputy chief of Daocheng county, who brought Xiao Zhong to a local hospital in October.

Local villagers said that the child's mother, 43, who suffers from chronic mental illness, gave birth to Xiao Zhong and a twin after being raped in 2006.  

Tragically, the twin died, and the mother began raising her surviving child in the sty.

Net users slammed local residents for their indifference and called on the government to rescue neglected children.

"This tragedy is not a matter of money, or a problem of social awareness, but reveals the defects of the current legal system," said Guo Hong, an expert at Sichuan University-Hong Kong Polytechnic University Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction.


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