A man in China has been attempted with a charge of murder after he took his mother and buried her in an abandoned grave. The police in northern China found the old woman in a traumatised state but alive after three days. She was covered by loose dirt.
The man's wife while giving her statement narrated the ordeal of the old woman. She said that her husband took his mother away in a type of wheelbarrow on May 2. When the woman did not come home even after three days, the family got suspicious and started looking for her. The police was informed about the old woman gone missing. Her son was however quiet over the incident. The police, when informed, placed the man in detention in Shaanxi province's Jingbian county.
The man was identified as a 58-year-old with the surname Ma and his 79-year-old mother is surnamed Wang. The rescuers who heard faint calls for help said that despite the woman's ordeal, she was faintly calling for help when she was freed.
Son fed up, wanted to get rid of mother
The reason cited by the son for taking the step was that he was fed up of taking care of his mother and wanted to get rid of her somehow. She is partially paralyzed, which made the son give up on her, according to reports.
Reports pouring in from various sources cited a police statement that was not available online. The Jingbian county prosecutor's office has confirmed that an investigation was underway into the incident but no one gave further details on it. China lacks public assistance especially in poor rural areas, and the elders are left to the families that have to look after them.
Though China is one of the most lopsided countries in the world, the number of billionaires it has is more than the United States. But though hundreds of millions of its people have risen out of poverty over the past few decades, about 400 million were living just above the poverty line in 2015 and this makes it difficult for people to fend for their elders.
