6-yr-old Chinese boy to get artificial ear

A six-year-old boy whose ears were allegedly cut off by his aunt-in-law in central China's Hubei province will have an artificial ear surgically attached, his father said Tuesday.

The right ear of Fanfan, not his real name, was reattached at a hospital in Xiangyang City the day it was cut off on Jan. 28. An artificial ear will be attached on the left side, said Wang Zhiyong, the boy's father.

Fanfan has been transferred to Wuhan General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Area Command at the provincial capital of Wuhan for the surgery, Wang said.

Wang said the boy's hearing has not been affected.

The hospital will treat the boy free of charge, and 35,000 yuan (5,779 U.S. dollars) has been donated from the public, he said.

On Jan. 28, Zhang Qihui, Fanfan's aunt-in-law, allegedly took him into an alley, severing both his ears with a fruit knife and leaving wounds on his chin, after arguments with family members over housing construction in Wanghe Village of Xiangyang City, according to local police.

Zhang has been detained, and a further investigation is under way.