Covid-19 in China: Woman and ailing father threatened with detention after clash with police while trying to visit hospital
- A viral video of the confrontation in which police stopped the pair going to a hospital has sparked public outrage
- The city on the North Korean border has been in lockdown for 2 months, but is now loosening controls following an intervention from the provincial governor
In the 10-minute video the woman tried to argue with police and the father was seen covering his abdomen constantly with his hands. The woman later said that her father had intestinal surgery in April and she wanted to take him to hospital for a check-up after she was given a permit to collect his medication.
During the argument the woman was pushed to the ground by a police officer and the father slapped the officer, who subsequently fell.
Local police said in a statement on Wednesday that the woman, 41, had been given 10 days of administrative detention for obstruction of duty and the father, 70, faces criminal detention for assaulting a police officer – although neither punishment has yet been implemented.
The statement caused an uproar online and many expressed their sympathy for the pair.
