Sad Yiyi’s life ends in blame game

The death of 4-year-old Zhou Jiayi, who died at a charitable foster care center in Beijing in December last year, has triggered acrimonious mudslinging, after her autopsy picture was posted online Sunday.

Web users raised doubts over the child's death, alleging it was related to the foster center at Cuigezhang village, Chaoyang district, operated by the Children's Hope Foundation (CHF)， a national non-government organization. Both the center and CHF fought back online yesterday with written evidence including the autopsy report. Police have been informed, and are looking into the case.

Wu Xuxin, a Sina Weibo verified user, listed as "head of Beijing Shangde Guangye Medical Company," posted a photo of Zhou's autopsy on Sunday. She and Zhou, nicknamed Yiyi, met when she volunteered at the center, but she was blacklisted by CHF head Zhang Wen for trying to find out the reason for Yiyi's death, Wu claimed.

Yiyi, from Guizhou Province, came to CHF's Beijing center in Beijing in November 2010, for treatment for brain injuries sustained after her mother beat her in May 2010 when they were living in Zhejiang Province. Her mother was later jailed for two years for child abuse. She was diagnosed with cerebral atrophy (shrinking of the brain) at Beijing Tiantan Hospital.

"The only thing I know is she left the world like this," said Wu, "may she rest in peace." Wu alleged earlier she had seen children beaten at the center.

The graphic autopsy photo has enraged Web users, who said it was disrespectful, while others, although without evidence, claimed CHF was involved with human organ trafficking.

"Posting such a bloody photo is illegal," said CHF director Zhang on her microblog. Another CHF publicity employee said yesterday Wu's words and online criticism is nothing but slander, and they have called police.

The autopsy photo was taken by a volunteer, who is known by his nickname "Zhandouji," from another NGO, which deals with trafficked children. "Zhandouji" was among the first to care for Yiyi in 2010, he told the Global Times yesterday.

"Medical experts and Yiyi's father and grandfather checked her body before the autopsy and there were no obvious external injuries proving she was recently beaten," he said, "Yiyi was happy at the center and the staff was heartbroken when she died."

CHF posted two statements on their website yesterday, explaining the events prior to Yiyi's death on December 9. According to CHF, Yiyi had a fever and was hospitalized for gastritis on December 8, and died in the early morning the next day.

Yiyi's autopsy, conducted on December 17, showed that she had hydrocephalus, cerebral atrophy, and bronchitis which caused organ failure, according to the medical report.

"The autopsy was done a week after she died, so the human organ trafficking accusation is absolute nonsense," said a medical expert from Beijing-based Huaxia Evidence Identification Center, which conducted the autopsy.

Still, some refused to believe CHF, despite the written evidence. In the photo, Yiyi was lying on a bed with colorful sheets, which does not look like a formal autopsy, said Web users.

The foundation scheduled a press conference today, but it was postponed until further notice, as they need to gather more evidence, a publicity employee from the foundation said.

Wu Xuxin was unavailable for comment yesterday, and neither did she give evidence in her microblog about how the child may have been abused at the center.

Yiyi's father, Zhou Yong, could not be contacted for comment yesterday.