ZENGJIAZHEN, China, June 26 (UPI) -- The man whose unborn daughter was allegedly forcibly aborted has gone into hiding since meeting with Chinese government officials, his sister said
Deng Jiyuan, 29, has not been seen since Sunday, when he was detained by government officials in Zengjiazhen, in rural Shaanxi province, his sister, Deng Jicai, told the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph Tuesday. Two weeks earlier a photograph of his distraught wife, Feng Jianmei, 23, with the 7-month fetus lying beside her on a plastic sheet, caused an uproar.
Three government officials have been suspended or are under investigation for demanding a fee for transferring bureaucratic paperwork, then allegedly giving the fetus a lethal injection when it was not paid, the newspaper reported.
The couple has a child, a 6-year-old daughter, and are permitted a second because they live in a rural area, but had to transfer the wife's residency from city to country, a process that caused considerable delay and frustration, the newspaper said.
"Since June 14, different people from different levels of government have been involved, all claiming they are investigating the case," said Deng's sister. She said her bother attempted to travel to Beijing to secure a human rights lawyer, "but he was stopped by several dozen police cars and over 100 officials. He was beaten."
The uproar intensified after a German journalist spoke briefly to Deng, prompting local residents to accuse the couple of betraying China by speaking to foreign media and the rise of anti-Deng banners in the town.
"Strike the national traitor! Get out of Zengjiazhen!" read one, the newspaper said.
