“Hello teacher, I am a family member of a 12-year-old girl from Linxia, Gansu, and I want to ask for your help.”
Yesterday morning, the reader Ma Yisi (Hui nationality name) added me on WeChat through the background and asked for my help. I asked him if he had any materials, and he sent me the “Letter of Request to the Government”.
I only then knew that he was Xiao Yan’s (pseudonym) uncle. Two years ago, the news of Xiao Yan being gang-raped by three men shocked the whole country. Ma Yisi claimed that in order to quell public opinion, the local leaders knelt down and begged him not to report it, and that they would take care of the child’s future life, schooling, and medical treatment.
On July 7th of this year, Ma Yisi took Xiao Yan to Beijing for a comprehensive mental examination, and she was diagnosed with severe depression and suicidal tendencies.
“We are now facing high medical expenses, and the family is really helpless. I have been running around for this case for more than three years, and I am heavily in debt and in a difficult situation. My niece’s illness has brought great distress and pressure to me and my family life.” Ma Yisi said.
In order to cope with this predicament, he has tried all possible methods, seeking help from the Linxia City People’s Court and the Linxia City Public Security Bureau, “Because I insisted on dealing with the case handlers before, they thought I was a stone in the toilet and retaliated against me, so that they don’t care now or just push back and refuse.” Ma Yisi said, “The child was taken back by me two days ago because of self-harm. I feel exhausted and my life is in despair.”
The knife marks left on Xiao Yan’s hand
Xiao Yan was born in March 2009 and lives in a mountain village in Hezheng County, Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province. Her father suffers from “cerebellar atrophy”, is prone to emotional outbursts, and is easily injured. He is often locked up at home. Her mother left the family after giving birth to her, before she was even full term. Xiao Yan is usually taken care of by her grandparents, and her uncle Ma Yisi pays for her upbringing by working in Qinghai. At the age of 5, Xiao Yan injured her right hand and had 4 fingers amputated.
In the summer of July 2021, 12-year-old Xiao Yan learned to use her grandmother’s mobile phone to log in to social media. On WeChat, adult men began to ask her to go out and play, but she refused. On July 30th, when a “netizen” suggested taking her to the park to play, she thought that she had gone to the city with her grandmother before, and her grandmother did not allow her to go to the park. Out of spite, she agreed to go with the netizen.
That night, Ma Yisi, who was in Qinghai, received a call from his mother, saying that Xiao Yan was missing. He rushed back to Linxia that night. After searching for two days, at 4 p.m. on August 2nd, with the help of the mobile phone positioning of the police station, it was confirmed that Xiao Yan was in the central square of Linxia City, more than 20 kilometers away from home. He and his mother and two police officers rushed to the square and finally found Xiao Yan, who was wandering in the square.
Ma Yisi recalled that when he saw Xiao Yan for the first time, he found that she was full of panic and even some fear. Ma Yisi, who was both angry and anxious, slapped his niece twice. After being beaten, Xiao Yan hid in her grandmother’s arms and said that she had been raped.
According to Xiao Yan’s own account, from the afternoon of July 30th to August 2nd, she was controlled by the “netizen” and “forced to have a relationship with me, and it wasn’t just one person, it was three people. Those people were in their twenties, and I wanted to leave, but they wouldn’t let me leave. I didn’t go home because of shame.”
Ma Yisi combs Xiao Yan’s hair
The police who accompanied the search for Xiao Yan came from Hezheng County, Linxia Prefecture. Since the rape Xiao Yan accused happened in Linxia City, Linxia Prefecture, the case was handled by the Linxia City Public Security Bureau. The police asked Xiao Yan to send messages to the three suspects, and they drove to the square and arrested the three men.
On August 6, 2021, the Linxia City Public Security Bureau issued a “Notice of Not Filing a Case”. According to media reports, when the case was initially handled, because the suspects all refused to admit that they knew Xiao Yan was under 14 years old, and that she had voluntarily met the netizens, the case was not filed.
After applying for criminal review and review, after the Lunar New Year in 2022, Ma Yisi called to urge and asked, and the captain of the Criminal Police Team of the Linxia City Public Security Bureau told him that the case had been filed, “Two of the three men were arrested, and the other man did not constitute a crime. The crime was not rape of a minor, but the crime of organizing minors to engage in indecent acts.”
Ma Yisi felt puzzled, because there was no “crime of organizing minors to engage in indecent acts” in the “Criminal Law”, and the similar crime was “the crime of inducing minors to engage in indecent acts”. Sure enough, the case was transferred to the Linxia City Procuratorate, and the procuratorate decided not to arrest the suspects, and the police also handled the bail for the arrested persons.
Ma Yisi said that after this incident was exposed by the media, “On the evening of May 30, 2022, someone arranged for my nephew to bring 600,000 yuan in cash, and asked my mother to tell me not to make a fuss anymore, and not to report it to the media. I still didn’t want the money. What I wanted was not money, but the child’s lifelong reputation, and what I wanted was the fairness and justice of the law.”
The next day, the three suspects were re-criminally detained by the Linxia City Public Security Bureau on the grounds of “suspected rape”.
During the handling of the case, a leader also came to Ma Yisi and said that as long as he did not pursue the responsibility of the police, they would arrange the judgment, that is, to sentence more and give more money, “I said no, what I want is not money, what I want is fairness and justice! I must hold those police officers accountable, and the leader got up and left.”
On the afternoon of April 17, 2023, the Linxia City People’s Court publicly pronounced the judgment on the rape case of the defendants Ma Moujia, Si Moumou, and Ma Mouyi, and the rape case of the defendant Zhou Moumou.
After trial, it was found that the defendants Ma Moujia and Si Moumou raped a minor on July 30, 2021. The defendant Ma Mouyi provided assistance to Ma Moujia and Si Moumou’s rape. The defendant Zhou Moumou raped a minor on July 31, 2021.
The Linxia City People’s Court held that the criminal acts of Ma Moujia, Si Moumou, Ma Mouyi, and Zhou Moumou were of a vile nature and serious circumstances, and their acts had constituted the crime of rape and should be severely punished according to law.
The court finally sentenced the defendant Ma Moujia to fifteen years in prison for the crime of rape, deprived of political rights for three years; sentenced the defendant Si Moumou to fourteen years in prison for the crime of rape, deprived of political rights for two years; sentenced the defendant Ma Mouyi to six years in prison for the crime of rape, deprived of political rights for one year. The court ruled that the defendants Ma Moujia, Si Moumou, and Ma Mouyi jointly compensate the civil plaintiff for mental damages of 90,000 yuan, medical expenses, nutrition expenses, nursing expenses, transportation expenses, psychological counseling expenses, etc. of 4,500 yuan, totaling 94,500 yuan.
The defendant Zhou Moumou was sentenced to seven years in prison for the crime of rape, deprived of political rights for one year. The court ruled that the defendant Zhou Moumou compensate the civil plaintiff for mental damages of 30,000 yuan, medical expenses, nutrition expenses, nursing expenses, transportation expenses, psychological counseling expenses, etc. of 1,500 yuan, totaling 31,500 yuan.
In addition, 12 leading cadres and staff members from the Linxia Municipal Procuratorate and Public Security Bureau who failed to perform their duties were held accountable and dealt with, including 8 people who were given disciplinary and administrative sanctions (and 2 people who were organizationally dealt with), and 6 people who were transferred from the public security system and other organizational measures.
Ma Yisi said that although the three men were sentenced, and the court also ruled for 126,000 yuan in compensation, and three years have passed, his niece’s mental condition is getting worse day by day, self-harm! Taking medicine! Suicide! He took his niece to visit many doctors, but it was to no avail.
This July, with the help of friends in the media, Ma Yisi took Xiao Yan to Beijing for a comprehensive mental examination, and she was diagnosed with severe depression and suicidal tendencies.
Xiao Yan’s health questionnaire result analysis report
“We are now facing high medical expenses, and the family is really helpless. I have been running around for this case for more than three years, and I am heavily in debt and in a difficult situation. My niece’s illness has brought great distress and pressure to me and my family life.” Ma Yisi said that in order to cope with this predicament, he has tried all possible methods, seeking help from the Linxia City People’s Court and the Linxia City Public Security Bureau, but has not been able to effectively solve the problem, “Now, I feel exhausted and my life is in despair.”
In the “Letter of Request to the Government”, Ma Yisi made two requests: 1. Request the leaders of the state party committee and the state government to provide assistance with the child’s medical expenses, and to have professional psychological teachers intervene in the child’s condition as soon as possible.
2. Request the leaders of the state party committee and the state government to change the child’s school and learning environment, so that the child will not live in endless rumors.
In addition, Ma Yisi also insisted on accusing and demanding to hold the case handlers accountable for abuse of power, “Because they are suspected of committing crimes, they just changed their working environment, and have they ever thought about what will happen to this girl’s life? How will she live in the local area? How will she get married in the future?
The following is the WeChat chat record between Ma Yisi and the author.
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