A midwife who was suspended from a hospital in Guangdong Province after a new mother accused her of stitching up her anus in response to her refusal to offer a bribe has sued the mother for 10,000 yuan (US$15,016) in compensation for damaging her reputation.
The midwife, Zhang Jirong of Fenghuang Hospital in Luohu District, Shenzhen City, has filed lawsuits against the unidentified woman and two Shenzhen media outlets for defamation, Shandong Television Station reported yesterday.
In response, the patient's husband, surnamed Chen, immediately hired a lawyer to file a charge against Zhang, asking for a public apology and 1 yuan in compensation for the mental suffering Zhang brought to the family, said the report, which didn't give any more details.
Chen insisted Zhang had sewn his wife's anus after labor because the couple only gave her 100 yuan as a tip, while Zhang asked for 1,000 yuan. A report by Shenzhen police confirmed the patient's anus had been stitched, according to Nanfang Daily.
However, Zhang denied Chen's allegation and said she conducted an unauthorized quick surgery to ligate the patient's bleeding hemorrhoid after labor, which was "totally out of her kindness," reported Nanfang Daily.
Chen told Nanfang Daily the hospital had asked him to sign a statement refusing media interviews, and that a director of the hospital had tried to bribe him into silence. The couple also suffered harassment from an unknown man warning them to keep quiet, he claimed.
By Zhang Xuanchen
