Chinese Woman Gets Pregnant Three Times In 4 Years To Avoid 5-Year Jail Term

A Chinese woman named Chen Hong, convicted of fraud in Shanxi province, exploited a loophole in the law to avoid serving her five-year prison sentence. According to Chinese law, pregnant or nursing women can serve their sentence outside of prison under local authority supervision. Chen Hong took advantage of this provision and gave birth to three children with the same man over four years, effectively delaying her imprisonment, South China Morning Post.

During an inspection in May, authorities discovered she had given birth to a third child, but the baby's household registration was under her sister-in-law's name, effectively making the child her sister-in-law's. Hong admitted to being divorced, and her first two children lived with her ex-husband, while she gave away the third child to her ex-husband's sister. The local procuratorate suspected Chen was using pregnancy to avoid jail and suggested she be imprisoned. 

With less than a year of her sentence remaining, Chen Hong was sent to a detention centre to serve out her term instead of being imprisoned. Authorities took steps to ensure she understood the law and was willing to comply, with the procuratorate and local judiciary sending staff to explain her obligations and facilitate a smooth transition to serving her sentence. 

Social media users in China were shocked and outraged by Chen Hong's case, with many questioning the loopholes in the Chinese law. One user wrote, "I pity the three children who were born only because their mother wanted to escape prison."

Another commented, "I was more shocked that she could get pregnant when she wanted."

Not The First Case

This tactic isn't unique to Chen Hong. Another woman, Zeng, sentenced to life imprisonment for corruption in 2005, claimed 14 pregnancies in 10 years, 13 of which were true, to evade prison. She eventually started serving her sentence after a decade. 

In China, certain convicts can serve their sentence outside of prison under specific circumstances. These include:

• Serious Illness: Convicts suffering from severe illnesses can be allowed to serve their sentence outside prison
• Pregnancy and Nursing: Pregnant women and those nursing newborns can also serve their sentence outside prison, typically at home or in a hospital.
• Inability to Live Independently: Convicts unable to care for themselves due to physical or mental conditions may also be eligible.

Those serving their sentence outside prison are usually placed under community correction, supervised by local community correctional institutions. The supervision involves regular reporting, inspections and community service. The convicts are required to submit illness or pregnancy examination reports once every three months.