Recently, the case of a '9-year-old boy traveling in the trunk with his biological father and stepmother in Guangdong Province, China' has attracted widespread attention from netizens. The boy’s biological mother, Ms. Wang, revealed that this happened during the 2023 summer vacation, when the child traveled with his biological father, stepmother, and paternal grandparents by car from Foshan, Guangdong to Guilin, Guangxi. Due to limited seats in the front row, they arranged for the son to sit in the car trunk.
● Biological Mother: Ex-husband Has Long-Term Spiritually Abused the Child
Ms. Wang became very angry upon learning this. After registering her divorce from the child’s biological father in April 2021, the child was placed in the father’s custody. The custody was only changed to Ms. Wang in November 2024. Ms. Wang said that the child suffered long-term psychological abuse from the other side, and it was only recently that the full details of the situation became clear.
Ms. Wang believes that her son’s health rights, personality rights, and right to life have been affected. She accused her ex-husband of implementing mental violence against the child, glaring and yelling threats, forcing the child to curse his mother and accept that his mother didn’t want or love him, throwing away the child’s breakfast, deliberately withholding documents when the child was sick, and even beat and insulted her when she tried to get the documents. Instead, she was sued in court, accused of violating their privacy and reputation, disturbing their happy life, and was asked to pay 300,000 yuan (about 177,500 MYR) in compensation. After the custody change, the other party refused to hand over documents and materials, causing the child to miss school for several months.
This April, she filed a civil lawsuit against the child’s biological father and stepmother over her son’s health rights. The case was heard on June 4.
Regarding the trunk incident, the boy’s biological father, Mr. Liu, admitted it but claimed that the child was not in the trunk the whole time. “The child only sat in the trunk on the highway for one or two hours. For the rest of the time, he sat in the front row, although it was a bit cramped.”
● Biological Father: Child Was Willing, Denies Mental Abuse
Mr. Liu added that his vehicle is an SUV with no barrier between the front seats and the trunk, allowing good air circulation so the child wouldn’t feel stuffy. He emphasized, “Along the way, we walked and played; we were not driving all the time.” He said he consulted the child before departure, and the child agreed willingly. Also, the child was young back then and didn’t curl up in the trunk as much as he does now.
Facing Ms. Wang’s claim of long-term psychological abuse by the biological father and stepmother, Mr. Liu denied it. “That is my biological child. Every year I spend 50,000 yuan (about 29,600 MYR) for him to attend private school. I treat him very well.”
As for Ms. Wang’s request for a public apology, Mr. Liu said, “I admit my action was dangerous driving, and I also admit letting the child sit in the trunk, but I did not do the other things she claims. I will not admit to them.” Mr. Liu believes his approach did not violate the child’s wishes and does not intend to apologize to Ms. Wang or the child.