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Q: Auntie locked in prison for being present when friend slapped shopkeeper
My Auntie has been locked in prison and transferred to a second location. We have lost contact. She went to a shop were her friend slapped the shopkeeper and she was just a witness. But the china police have arrested her without any charges. The British consulate has said the is nothing they can do about the situation. They provided a list of lawyers that want to charge as much as 10,000 pounds. Can someone out their who is familiar with china law system advise, on how best to approach the situation
Thanks
Helen
Is you Aunt a British citizen?
if yes go screaming to the UK Media !
If she is Chinese you have a problem
is the friend locked up too?
I agree with Phil regarding the media.
During the Christmas season, an American was arrested in Mexico for smuggling a gun. However, he had cleared it with both the US and the Mexican authorities before brining it across( he was on a hunting trip to a third place). The gun was an antique from his grandfather.
Anyway, after months of nothing the family finally went to the media (against the advice of the State Dept) and it was only then that the problem was resolved and he was freed.
Go to the media, have them pressure the Embassy here. Seems like many of our Embassies are more interested in making nice with the host rather than looking out for their Nationals.
And on my part, I wish your Aunt the best of luck.
I'm sorry for your loss. It seems like her friend caused a big problem when she decided to slap the shopkeeper not thinking about the consequences. Now she's locked up and somewhere in China's prison system. Let that be a lesson! If you are with someone and they commit a crime which physically assaulting someone is they will also look like they are involved. Either way I learned a valuable lesson in this story. Don't go to stores with hot headed friends.
Think about if the roles were reversed and somebody decided to slap your family member that has high blood pressure. You don't really know if the shop keeper had any illnesses or was weak. I think the parties involved should all take accountability. Hopefully there is a video since nobody is denying slapping the other person.
He he, I said: "learned"!
Thanks Guillin and Phil for your advise. How do I go about it. Do I approach a newspaper or human rights organisation. My auntie has been a housewife for as long as I have known her and also has high blood pressure. Time is quite crucial.
99Silva:
You could try that, but it might not be a good idea! Physical assaults are not something you want to defend. Especially here! You have to think about it on the other spectrum how the other people feel. How does the shopkeeper feel after being slapped? His rights were definitely violated!
GuilinRaf:
Well Sparky, while the shopkeeper is definitely entitled to seeing the person who slapped him punished, the person punished should ONLY be the person that actually hit him. That is the idea behind "Justice". Punish the Guilty to vindicate the Aggrieved and leave everyone else alone.
Scandinavian:
wait GRat, maybe Sparky is on to something, you and I should be punished too for reading about it here, if everyone got locked up for being near someone doing something wrong, there would be a lot higher employment in the prison industry, which means more cheap toys for export, and there would be no crime (except that committed inside the walls)
Lolitta2:
Was your aunt a tourist here? You said she's been a housewife all her life so what was she doing in China? And is her friend Chinese?
All major newspapers have offices here in China. You can try their Beijing office.
I see Sparky is running out the CCP standard official line again
The British consulate must render assistance to their Citizens abroad that is their Job
If they do not do their job tell the people that employed them The British public Via the media
then they can tell the Chinese Public
Scandinavian:
isn't CCP standard line to give the relevant officials some money in a red envelope in the vague hope they might consider looking into doing their jobs ?
Unfortunately, consulates only provide simple assistance, meaning they only ensure the well-being of a citizen who is imprisoned. There are some options which include the media, Helen, I take it your aunt is Chinese British? Not sure, but if the offense was a mere slap she and her friend would have only been deported at worst. Typically, a monetary fee is attached to the offense as severance to the victim but would not be more than 1,000 rmb for a simple assault charge. I am not sure of this situation but as a person who does know the Chinese law quite well, something is missing from this puzzle, you would have to be more specific on her nationality now and before along with being more forth coming for me to be able to help you more, 10,000 GPD is not a going rate for any lawyer in China in which would have the right to actually represent your aunt in court.
Is it just me or is this situation totally weird? Who gets locked up for merely slapping someone? There has to be more to this story than you let on. There is no way they would waste their resources a) locking someone up for more than a few hours especially if they're foreign and b) transferring them to a second location. Maybe your Aunt's friend had some kind of illegal dealings with the shopkeeper who unfortunately for your aunt and friend, had some very close connections to the police. There is something not right about this story.
Samsara:
Last year a guy in Guangzhou died in police custody after slapping someone.
they needed to count her as one of the 215 foreigners investigated for criminal activity
