China Arrests Policeman for Allegedly Hurling Baby Girl to the Ground, Made a Bet with Friends Infant was Just a Doll
Police authorities in China have detained a fellow police officer following allegations he had hurled a baby girl to the ground to prove to his friends the infant was just a doll.
The incident which involved seven-month-old Yueyue and 50-year-old Guo Zengxi, a local policeman, happened in Central China's Henan Province in July.
Local media news outlets in China reported that Guo, along with some friends, was on his way to a karaoke bar when they chanced upon a couple with a baby. He then made a bet with his friends that the infant being cradled by the father in his arms was just an impostor doll.
Li Qingfeng, Yueyue's father, and his wife were walking down the street with a stroller at 9 pm on July 20 when they came across Guo and two other men, who Li alleged were all drunk.
When the two parties came face to face with each other, Li said Guo looked at his baby girl and then touched her face and arms, according to a report in the Legal Evening News.
"I thought the man (Guo) was just showing affection toward my baby, so I didn't stop him," the paper quoted the 28-year-old Li as saying.
What happened next bewildered and shocked Yueyue's parents.
Guo took the baby girl from her father, lifted her up and then threw her to the ground.
Li and his wife immediately took Yueyue to a hospital. Although already declared out of danger, it remains uncertain if the baby will pull through since the incident had fractured her skull.
Reports presumed the couple filed charges against Guo because he had been placed in detention for 15 days. However, he was not suspended from his job, which eventually angered netizens who learned of the ill-fated treatment against baby girl Yueyue.
Netizens clamored the old policeman should be held criminally liable for his offense.
"The policeman involved in the baby attack was put under criminal detention on Saturday night and was transferred to a detention center in Anyang city this morning," Guo Fajie, head of the public security bureau of Anyang city which governs Linzhou, was quoted by China Daily.
The Henan province local government said it has sent baby Yueyue to Beijing for further medical examination, accompanied by public security and health authorities of Linzhou.