Chinese Man Caged for 20 Years

Is mental illness enough reason for someone to get locked up?

Wei Yun, a 23 year-old-man who has suffered from mental illness since he was young for many years, comes from a rural Chinese village.

When he was nearly three years old, he knocked over a pot of boiling water and almost died. As a result, his parents decided to lock him up in a wooden cage.

Apparently, there is no one to look after Wei as his father works away from home and his stepmother also works during the day.

People who live near him say that Wei can’t walk. Instead, he just crawls on the ground whenever he is let out of the cage–a result of being locked up in a very small cage.

Neighbors do not find fault with the stepmother for doing this to Wei: “It’s a hard choice for her as she, on one hand, has to take care of Wei Yun, but on the other, she has to do field work and other odd jobs to support the family.”