Mentally ill man freed from cage after eight years
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A mentally ill man has been freed after spending the last eight years locked in a cage. / Courtesy of Quirky China News
By Cho Hyun-eui
A mentally ill Chinese man was rescued from an iron cage after being in captivity for eight years, the Daily Mail reported Thursday.
Hong Zhengqu spent the past eight years eating, using the toilet and sleeping in a one-square-meter cage.
His mother, who recently passed away, caged him after he was diagnosed with severe psychological problems and hurt people several times.
The iron cage had to be hammered open because it had rusted shut.
Hong could no longer walks because he was stuck in a confined space for so long.
Hong has now found a place at a mental health institute and the township donated 10,000 yuan toward his care.
Hong's mother's behavior is actually not rare in rural China where many uneducated people think that caging mentally ill men can be helpful, preventing them from harming others.