A five-year-old girl, who was constantly abused by her mother, spent International Children's Day in a hospital in China.
She was sent to the Changshu Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Suzhou province last Thursday, after a neighbour informed the police.
The girl appeared motionless with blood all over her body.
Doctors said seven of her rib bones were fractured. The girl also had many lacerated wounds and scars all over her body.
Besides, doctors also believe that many other bones in her body had fractured before due to their abnormal shapes.
"She was also found to be suffering from malnutrition," said Dr Ni Daolei, adding that her condition was stable now.
What was most shocking was the identity of the person who had caused the injuries and the reason for the abuse.
Since Linlin was eight months old, she had been living with her grandmother because her working parents had no time to take care of her.
Since Linlin was eight months old, she had been living with her grandmother because her working parents had no time to take care of her.
She has a nine-year-old sister and a brother, three.
Linlin returned to her parents' home in April last year, but she did not acknowledge her mother as 'mummy' since it was her granny who took care of her from the time she was a baby.
She refused to call her mother 'mummy' and this annoyed Wang Changxiu, who started beating the girl.
"She beat me everyday, with her hands, legs, sticks, hangers, bricks…," Linlin told reporters at her hospital bed on Wednesday.
But suddenly, the girl went quiet. Her expression turned scared as she gazed at the entrance of the intensive care unit.
Wang, who is seven months' pregnant, walked in around 2.30pm.
"She ignored me, refused to call me 'mother'. She doesn't love me. See, I have never beaten her sister and brother," the 41-year-old Wang said.
Asked about the injuries, she answered bluntly: "They were certainly inflicted by me, I don't care."
Wang punched her daughter and fractured her rib bones. She also cut her with a pair of scissors and hit her hands with bricks.
A neighbour, surnamed Zhu who lodged the police report said the girl was beaten daily.
"There was one time I saw the mother kicking Linlin until the girl landed outside the house.
"She crawled slowly to the door, then her mother stepped on her body several times. But Linlin dared not cry," he said, added the girl was given two meals a day.
"She ate a little bit in the morning, had no lunch and then ate the leftovers from the family at night," another neighbour said.
Wang was arrested but was given bail later.
A lawyer told the media that Wang has immunity because she is pregnant.
