Heart-breaking plight of the Chinese man who has spent his life locked in a wooden cage

A mentally disabled Chinese man has spent almost his entire life locked inside a wooden cage because his family cannot afford to look after him.

Tragic Wei Yun, 23, who lives in Gongchuan village, in southern China's Guangxi Province is unable to walk or talk and can only crawl.

As a young child he was allowed to crawl around the home but at the age of two he knocked over a pot of boiling water and almost died.



Tragic: Wei Yun, 23, who lives in Gongchuan village, in southern China's Guangxi Province has been locked inside a cage for almost his entire life

From then on his parents began to lock him in a wooden cage for his own safety.

Wei's father works away from home and rarely has the time to visit, meaning there is no one to watch over Wei while his stepmother Nong is out working during the day.



Plight: Wei's father works away from home and rarely has the time to visit, meaning there is no one to watch over him while his stepmother Nong is out

Heartbreaking: When he was young Wei Yun's family let him crawl around their home but when he was two he knocked over a boiling pot of water and almost died

Plight: Many of China's mentally ill people are kept in the most appalling fashion especially in rural areas where poverty is rife and there are no state facilties to care for them

Because of this she is forced to lock him away in the small cage all day while she is out.



A neighbour commented: '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'.

Many of China's mentally ill people are forced to live in the most appalling fashion especially in rural areas where poverty is rife and there are no state facilities to care for them.

Wei Yun's plight echoes that of 40-year-old Tang Zuhua, whose 76-year-old mother has kept him locked in a ruined barn in Chongqing, southern China for 23 years.

Spartan: Wei Yun's cage sits in the corner of a small room in Southern China's Guangxi Province

Hardship: Wei is unable to stand, walk or talk and can only crawl















