A woman in Zhejiang province, eastern China, has been arrested after allegedly assaulting her mother-in-law and leaving the elderly woman with four broken ribs following an argument over childcare responsibilities.
The incident, which took place in Jiaxing, was reported by Zhejiang Television and has sparked heated debate on Chinese social media over grandparents’ responsibilities in caring for grandchildren and the obligations of adult children towards their parents.
According to reports, the couple have two children and work in different cities, leaving the children in the care of the husband’s mother, identified only by her surname Shen.
The dispute reportedly began after one of the children contacted the mother through the home’s surveillance camera system, saying they were feeling unwell and claiming their grandmother had refused to check their temperature.
The woman immediately boarded a high-speed train and arrived at Shen’s home about an hour later.
Shen reportedly explained that the children were difficult to manage and said she was also suffering from a toothache.
Her daughter-in-law then offered to take her to hospital for treatment, but Shen declined, saying she wanted to meet her boyfriend instead.
According to the report, Shen also remarked that she “would rather die than look after the grandchildren”, a comment that is believed to have further escalated the confrontation.
The argument eventually turned violent, with the daughter-in-law allegedly attacking Shen, leaving her with facial injuries and four fractured ribs.
Reports also claimed this was not the first time Shen had allegedly been assaulted by her daughter-in-law over accusations that she had failed to care for the children properly.
Meanwhile, Shen’s son, identified as Jiao and the husband of the accused woman, defended his wife’s actions. He described his mother as “immoral” and claimed she deserved to be beaten.
Jiao also argued that because he was facing financial difficulties, Shen should have either helped care for the children or provided the family with a monthly allowance to ease their financial burden.
