Heartbreaking: China boy, 8, ties himself to little sister with toy string as anxious pair wait for abused mother to undergo hospital check-up
- Children’s mother went to hospital after violent husband had punched her face earlier the same day
- Official data reveals that 24.7 per cent of women in China have suffered domestic violence
A young Chinese boy who tethered himself caringly to his toddler sister with toy string while they waited for their abused mother to have a medical check-up has melted hearts on mainland social media.
Their mother, identified as Xiaoyu, took the pair to a hospital in southwest China’s Yunnan province late at night after she suffered injuries during a violent attack by her husband in front of the children earlier the same day.
Xiaoyu and her husband had been living apart since May before she filed for divorce earlier this month.
Before going for the check-up, Xiaoyu asked her son, 8, to look after his sister, 3, who had fallen asleep on a bench in the hospital. She told him to stay awake to stop his younger sibling from being kidnapped.
When she returned after half an hour, heartbroken Xiaoyu found her son had also fallen asleep while holding onto a piece of toy string he had tied to his sister’s wrist.
Xiaoyu posted a video of the moment on Douyin, the mainland version of TikTok, on September 17.
