Mentally ill man freed in China after 8 YEARS locked inside iron cage

A mentally ill man has been freed after spending the past eight years locked in a cage in south-China.

Hong Zhengqu has spent the best part of the last decade in a rusty 10sqft cage in Jinjiang, Fujian Province.

Mr Hong’s situation only came to light recently when his mother, who had cared for him, passed away.

His family locked him inside cage after he was diagnosed with severe psychological problems and became aggressive.

Mr Hong was rescued from his cage by a group of volunteers, local government officials and policemen.

Mr Hong has now been found a place at a nearby psychiatric home where he will be cared for

Although Mr Hongs’ family’s behaviour may appear cruel and inhumane, this is not unheard of in rural China where there has been several cases of, mainly men, locked in cages for years.

Families are uneducated about what is causing their behaviour, which can sometimes be aggressive towards themselves and others, and believe they are doing them a favour by caging them.

In other cases previously reported by MailOnline, families living in poverty have not been able to pay for psychiatric care for their loved ones.Read more: dailymail.co.uk