13-year-old girl dies after plunging from window off all male dorm at Chinese factory

A 13-year-old girl, who allegedly worked in a packaging plant, has died after falling from a fifth-floor dormitory she was said to be sharing with four male roommates.

The tragedy in China’s Longhua New Area, happened after she allegedly refused to do their laundry.
Her death at a hospital at the weekend has raised new questions about child labour and child slavery in the republic, where the minimum working age is 16.

The girl, named by police by her surname Cao, had run away from her home in Lianjiang in the Guangdon Province last month, according to her father.

Cao and a friend wanted to avoid going to school and find work. The pair moved into the Longsheng Living Compound and she later she found work at a packaging plant near a clothing market, locals claim.

The death is being treated as suspicious, although police are ruling out murder or sexual assault.
It is still unclear how the tragedy unfolded, and local police are investigating.

Her death follows the case of 22-year-old Yuan Liya who fell from a building in the capital of Beijing in May after allegedly being gang-raped.

Local police were accused of mishandling Liya’s case when they claimed she had committed suicide.
Liya had fallen from the Jingwen shopping mall in Beijing, and the police had refused permission for her family to view surveillance footage.

The case sparked allegations of a police cover-up and demonstrations in the city.