A woman slapped her daughter on the head, inflicting a dangerous intracranial haemorrhage on the two-year-old baby girl.

The girl revived after a six-hour operation, during which doctors removed 30 mililitre of blood clots from her skull.

The mother, 35-year-old Wang Fang, was charged with child abuse and the case plunged the poverty-stricken family into heavy debt.

Xinxin, the baby girl came out of her coma a few days after the operation at the Children's Hospital of Fudan University. She now lies connected to various tubes in a hospital ward, hands loosely tied to the bed frame to prevent her pulling out the tubes.

Her eyes are open but not focused on people around her. She kicks weakly occasionally with one leg. "She is smaller than average and shows obvious signs of malnutrition," said a staff member at the hospital.

The girl was sent to the hospital on October 6. Doctors found bruises that led them to decide this was not just an accident but a case of family violence.

"How could I know it would turn out like this," Wang said haltingly in the hospital corridor. "It would make my heart ache to see another child suffer this, let alone my own daughter." She wiped her red eyes with the sleeve.

Wang Fang and her husband Wu Qiang moved from Chongqing to the Shanghai suburb of Jiuting town last year. Wu works as a porter at the harbour but Wang couldn't find a job. A second daughter was born five months ago.

Wang and her husband considered the two-year-old Xinxin inactive. Other two-year-old could use the toilet but Xinxin still wets her pants.

On the morning of October 6, Xinxin wet her pants again. The annoyed mother slapped her, and was terrified to find the girl then lying immobile on the sofa.

She called her husband, who returned home and the two took the girl to the local hospital. Hospital employees said the situation was too serious for them to handle, transferring the patient to the Children's Hospital.

"Even a slight delay would have killed her," said a hospital staff member. "The operation was carried out immediately and lasted six hours."

Xinxin's situation was stabilized, though she remained in a coma for a few days.

She was kept in the acute patients' ward under observation. The cost was over 1,000 yuan (US$120) every day.

Wang and her husband tried every means to look for money. "We borrowed from neighbours, but they are also poor," Wang said. After collecting 3,000 yuan (US$360) from neighbours and friends, they still owed the hospital over 5,000 yuan (US$600).

"I hope some kind people could lend us a hand," Wang said at the gate of the hospital, holding the younger daughter, who was forbidden from entering the hospital.

The police of Jiuting town took Wang into custody but released her soon afterwards, as she has a baby in lactation. Wang was charged with child abuse.

"Much depends on the situation of Xinxin's recovery," said lawyer Chen Dongfeng. It is possible that Wang won't have to go to prison, if Xinxin recovers well, and they pay off the medical costs. Xinxin won't be taken away from her parents in any case.

"I didn't know how to be a mother," Wang said tearfully. "I didn't have education and don't know much. I thought two-year-olds should be able to help their mothers. One baby cries here and another shouts there. I was irritated."

Her neighbours said she was not a bad tempered person. "She has suffered a hard life," said a woman neighbour accompanying her to the hospital. "She doesn't have a job and has two young children to take care of. The whole family live on her husband's income."

It is still difficult to say whether the child will suffer from permanent brain injury. "Her situation is good so far," said a nurse in the ward. But family violence leaves traces in a child's future life. Over 50 per cent of children suffering from family violence tend to rebel against their parents, and 12.8 per cent become criminals, according to Dr. Wu Jinglei from the hospital.

Traditional Chinese ideology holds that caning is an effective educational method and many people feel there is nothing wrong about beating their children. "It was common for parents to beat children in my hometown of Chongqing. They never imagined it could be a crime," said Wu, Xinxin's father.

(Shanghai Star October 16, 2003)