Elderly woman sues sons, daughters to force them to visit her

An 88-year-old woman in Zhengzhou, Henan province, has taken her eight sons and daughters to court for failing to look after her, according to the Zhengzhou Evening News.

Wang Yuzhen has six sons and two daughters. Her husband passed away 47 years ago. To support her family of nine, Wang had to toil in the fields in Dongshuwa village from morning to evening.

Her sons and daughters now have their own families, some of them have great-grandchildren, but none of them pay for her living expenses and medical bills nor do they visit her.

In the court hearing on Monday, Wang asked for each son and daughter to pay her 500 yuan ($81) a month and visit her twice a month. They promised to visit her but thought the 500 yuan expense was too costly.

The number of elderly people above the age of 80 is rising at an annual rate of 5 percent in China. On July 1, 2013, China passed a new law pertaining to the protection of senior citizens' rights, asking people to visit their parents at regular intervals.

Since the law was passed, there have been several cases of elderly people from different parts of the country suing their offspring for not providing for them, according to the Zhengzhou Evening News.