17-year-old girl who committed suicide in retiring and dowry disputes
On the day when her husband’s family and her mother’s family discussed the refund of the betrothal gift and compensation after retiring, the 17-year-old girl Ozawa (pseudonym) in Miaogang Village, Xintian Town, Yingjing County, Ya'an City, Sichuan drank the pesticide. The next day, the "father-in-law" took it. The natal family returned the 63,400 yuan and left, and the remaining 150,000 yuan, the natal family promised to pay within 10 months.
Ozawa was born in Yingjing County in May 2004. Her ancestral home is in Meigu County, Liangshan Prefecture.
In December 2018, when she was 14 years old, she "married" according to the traditional marriage customs of her hometown and returned to Ganluo County, Liangshan Prefecture.
Photo by surging journalist Xu Hui in Miaogang Village, Xintian Town, Yingjing County, Ya'an City
According to media reports, in December of last year, Ozawa returned to her natal family, expressing that she did not want to live at her husband’s house and insisted on retiring and returning to her family’s family. However, retiring also meant that Ozawa’s family had to return the wedding gift from her in-law’s family and bear compensation.
Ozawa’s “husband” Amu said in an interview with The Paper that Ozawa had blocked his WeChat account during his lifetime and then lost contact with him. He found it inexplicable. In the years after marriage, his wife had not told him “ I’m not happy, I don’t want to pass it" or something else.
Only last year, my wife sent a message to herself saying, "Why don't you give the remaining gift money?"
The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) learned that on the day Ozawa took the medicine, the two families were negotiating the refund of the gift and related compensation matters, and finally agreed that Ozawa’s family would have to pay 63,400 yuan in addition to the 150,000 yuan gift to her in-law’s family.
Earlier online rumors reported that Ozawa was "sold twice by his mother", was beaten after escaping home, and then died of poison.
Local officials responded that after investigation, "there is no case of being sold twice, forced marriage, or assault", and the bride price dispute does exist.
Local people in Liangshan prefecture told The Paper that although early marriages are rare in Liangshan prefecture, the beauties are showing signs of increasing.
Neighbors of Ozawa who participated in the mediation between the two sides believed that Ozawa might have grown up outside because the conditions in Ganluo County are not comparable to those outside, and she may not be able to bear it.
I want to "divorce", but put a heavy burden on the family's dowry, so he faces tremendous pressure.
Up to now, local officials have not yet announced the results of Ozawa's suicide investigation.
14-year-old girl "married"
In Miaogang Village, Yingjing County, Ya'an, Sichuan, a large area of residential houses is built on a flat dam beside a small river, surrounded by beautiful scenery and convenient transportation, only a few kilometers away from the county seat.
Ozawa's family is here.
After Ozawa’s burial on April 22, there were still many guests at home. Women cleaned up in the kitchen, and men rested on the sofa and chairs.
In the hall, Bimo (the priest) continued to help Ozawa.
Ozawa's brother was very wary of visitors. He said that before that, several visitors who claimed to be media reporters had been driven away, and even the police had been reported.
He hopes that The Paper will help him appeal so that people outside will stop disturbing them, and their family will continue to live here.
Now the parents are in very poor mental state and refuse to be interviewed.
The Paper learned that the ancestral home of the Ozawa family is actually in Meigu County, Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan.
According to villagers in Miaogang Village, Ozawa’s family moved from Meigu County to Yingjing County around 2000. His father had been working in a coal yard and his mother had planted some land at home. Ozawa was born in Yingjing County in 2004.
The Ozawa family moved to live in this place now, after Ozawa got married in December 2018, "the house bought by a local villager".
For the past 20 years, the Ozawa family has rented a house nearby.
Regarding Ozawa's marriage before the age of 15, her neighbors of the same ethnic group said that according to their traditional concept, a girl began to marry at about 13 years old, and generally married before the age of 17. "17 years old is not considered a maiden family."
Now this tradition has changed a lot.
The "Civil Code" stipulates the age of marriage: men shall not be earlier than 22 years old, and women shall not be earlier than 20 years old.
Local villagers said that although the phenomenon of marrying or getting married at the age of 20 or younger still exists in the local area, it has become less and less mainstream.
A staff member of the village committee of Miaogang Village said that according to their knowledge, Ozawa and her "husband" were introduced by her aunt in Liangshan. The man was from Niuwu Village, Nierjue Township, Ganluo County, Liangshan Prefecture. The two met via video, and because they "looked at each other", both agreed to be together, and the man came to propose marriage the next day.
At that time, Ozawa's mother felt that it was too far to marry back to Liangshan Prefecture and hoped that she would "think carefully".
Villagers in the village where Ozawa’s “husband” is also told The Paper that they heard that the girl’s mother thought they were “in the mountains and the mountains are too big”.
Her parents used to go out from nearby towns and villages, and they should be reluctant to remarry their daughter.
However, it was only a week since Ozawa and the man met in the video to the wedding in accordance with local customs.
According to previous reports from Red Star News, the bride price negotiated by the two families was 210,000, but when they got married, the man had only paid 150,000 and still owed 60,000.
The rest of the agreement will be paid within one year, otherwise Ozawa will return to her family's home, and the betrothal paid before will not be refunded.
In May 2020, Ozawa gave birth to a baby girl.
But the 60,000 gift owed by the man has not been paid.
A neighbor of Ozawa’s family said that it is said that Ozawa has always minded this, and her mother said, "Nothing, just live a good life."
However, Ozawa’s “husband” Amu (a pseudonym) told The Paper that his father had repeatedly received calls from his relatives asking for the remaining betrothal gifts.
In December 2020, Ozawa took the child back to her natal family for more than 40 days, returned to the man’s house and left for one day.
She went to Zhejiang to work alone without telling her family members.
The man found Ozawa’s family and said that if Ozawa does not go back, he must return the betrothal gift.
Ozawa's brother said that his sister was not sold, forced to marry, or beaten by his mother.
Local villagers also confirmed Ozawa’s statement to The Paper, “Although she was married earlier, she did only get married once.”
On the wall of the office of the village committee of Miaogang Village, there is a photo of Ozawa wearing national costumes participating in village activities. The tall and thin man is more conspicuous in the crowd.
Drink pesticides when negotiating to return the betrothal gift
The above-mentioned staff of the Miaogang Village Committee said that Ozawa, a migrant worker, called his mother on April 5 and said that he wanted to go back to her natal family, but did not want to go back to the man’s house.
On April 7, Ozawa returned to her family.
Red Star News reported that after Ozawa returned home, his family asked if he was beaten or scolded by the man, and Ozawa denied it.
I just said that I was not happy over there, and I didn't want to live it anymore.
The family persuaded her to think carefully and she didn't listen, and even had to run away from home again, with a firm attitude.
On April 8, Ozawa's family invited the man to come home to discuss matters related to the divorce.
According to Liangshan's custom, the family killed a sheep as a treat, and invited a prestigious tribe to participate in the mediation as an intermediary.
The man's "father-in-law" brought his granddaughter and another relative, but Ozawa's "husband" was not present.
According to Ozawa's family, the two parties were eating and had not yet formally discussed. Ozawa went to the toilet and came back and stuffed a bottle into his father's arms.
When her father saw it, he yelled, "Drinking medicine, drinking medicine." He drove her on a motorcycle and sent her to the county hospital.
The staff of the village committee said that Ozawa drank the leftover pesticide that her father had used before, and he usually put it in the toilet, and the amount was small. It was said that there was another medicine blended in the bottle at that time.
The Paper learned that what Ozawa drank was Baicao Ling, which was very toxic and difficult to understand.
After being sent to the hospital for the first time, Ozawa was taken home to recuperate after the situation eased.
However, the divorce negotiation between the two families was not interrupted by Ozawa’s medication. An intermediary who participated in the mediation told The Paper that although the man only paid 150,000 gifts, according to their traditional Liangshan rules, one party offered to repent of the marriage. To compensate the other party for the loss of the wedding.
Therefore, at that time, the two parties negotiated a refund of more than 210,000 yuan.
Since Ozawa did not have that much money at home, the man took 63,400 yuan the next day and agreed to settle the remaining part within 10 months.
From April 11th to 16th, Ozawa's condition deteriorated and he was sent to Yingjing, Ya'an and Chengdu hospitals for treatment. “The hospital has refused to accept treatment, saying that there is no rescue.” A doctor in the village who participated in the treatment said and sent him back. After I got home, the bottle of medicine ran out. The family bought the medicine from the medicine bottle in the hospital and found him, and asked him to help with the infusion. He and another doctor helped her hang up the bottle.
Regarding the rumors of "being beaten" from the outside world, the doctor confirmed that there was no trauma and he could not tell that he was beaten.
The above-mentioned village committee staff said that after hearing this, they kept visiting home in those days, but what made her feel unbelievable was that "she can't see any pain, don't cry or make trouble", because the doctor has said, "I can't live for a few days. ", her mother kept crying next to her, and she was completely okay. Even if she couldn't breathe, she just covered her waist with her hand and watched the video with her mobile phone in the other hand.
"I haven't seen her shed a single tear." "Her birthday is April 15th, and she told her family,'It's early, I'm afraid I won't wait for that day'".
At 21 o'clock on April 19, Ozawa's life came to an end.
Failed to "follow the customs" when entering the country
Yingjing County, Ya'an, where Ozawa was born, is not only the starting point of the Yaxi Expressway, but also an important post on the Sichuan-Tibet Ancient Tea Horse Road.
The Tibetan tea produced here ("Laochuan tea") is more popular in Tibet. Therefore, the tea industry in Yingjing and surrounding areas has been relatively developed since ancient times.
The earliest people who migrated from Liangshan to Yingjing were related to tea.
According to the locals, the people who came here from Liangshan first came to Yingjing County carrying baskets with children in the front baskets and daily necessities in the back baskets.
First, I picked tea and worked at an old tea farm in Jianmin Township, and then settled down slowly.
Regardless of the natural environment or living conditions, it is better than many places in Liangshan Prefecture.
Hometowns and relatives introduced each other, more people moved here with their families, some continued to work in tea farms, some engaged in construction, and some entered coal yards.
They rent houses from local farmers and fellow villagers, and some landlords will lend them part of the land to grow.
In 2006, the number of people who migrated from Liangshan Prefecture to Yingjing County reached a certain scale. In order to facilitate management and incorporate them into the local social security system, Yingjing County established two ethnic townships.
According to the "Yingjing Yearbook": On April 28, 2006, the inaugural meeting of Baofeng and China Minjian Yi Nationality Townships was held.
On May 18th and 19th, the two ethnic townships were listed successively.
People who migrated from Liangshan Prefecture were resettled to these two townships. The Ozawa family also settled in Baofeng Township at this time and officially became Yingjing people.
But for a long time, the Ozawa family did not really live in Baofeng Township, but mainly lived in the area of Miaogang Village, Xintian Town, Yingjing. They rented houses for many people and moved many times.
It was not until Ozawa got married in 2018 that the family bought a house locally.
Although they became Yingjing people, they, like other Liangshan people who moved here, have always retained the life and marriage customs in Liangshan. "Their social circle is still dominated by their own people, and many of their relationships are still in Liangshan."
According to neighbors from the same village, although Ozawa’s parents have moved here for so many years, the family can speak Chinese fluently, but the interaction with local people in life is still relatively limited, "their main circle is still within the same clan." So although I see each other every day, it's almost a greeting, and the neighbors don't know much about family matters.
A staff member of the Miaogang Village Committee said that after Ozawa’s parents moved in, they became neighbors with his family. The two grandchildren often played together, so they had some contacts.
He said that he had rarely seen Ozawa before the accident.
But knowing that she went out to work after attending junior high school in Yingjing County.
Before returning home this time, Ozawa worked alone in Zhejiang.
On April 5th, she called her mother and said that she wanted to go back to her family’s home to play, but she didn’t want to go back to Gan Luo anymore. “I came back by plane overnight.”
An elementary school teacher in Liangshan prefecture said that there are very few young people in their local area who have ever taken an airplane. He himself has not yet taken an airplane. Compared with them, Ozawa has seen the world outside.
A neighbor of the same race said that she should be used to the outside, and it is difficult to adapt to the life inside (Niuwu Village).
"Husband's House" in Daliang Mountain
Marriage brings Ozawa back to Daliang Mountain, where his parents left.
"I lived here (Yingjing) since I was a child. She may not be used to going back anymore." said a neighbor of the Ozawa family in Miaogang Village, Yingjing County.
The Paper noted that Ganluo County, where Xiao Ze's family is located, is located in the northern part of Daliang Mountain, bordering Meigu County, and most of the territory is ravines and mountains undulating.
In October 2019, Ganluo County got rid of poverty, and Niuwu Village is one of the poorest villages in Ganluo County.
Niuwu Village, with an average elevation of 1,700 meters, is 36 kilometers away from Ganluo County and more than 200 kilometers away from Xichang, the capital of Liangshan Prefecture.
It is also 200 kilometers from here to Gaotian Town, Yingjing County, where Ozawa was born. The map shows that it takes more than 4 hours to drive between the two places.
When navigating to Niuwu Village from these places, the system will remind you "The road is narrow, please pay attention to driving safety."
Villagers in Miaogang Village told The Paper that they also heard that Ozawa had a bad relationship with the "husband" over there after he got married, and that "her husband was drinking too much."
However, the villagers of Ozawa's "husband" said that he was not alcoholic.
In the village where Ozawa was married, there is another reason for Ozawa's suicide.
According to a local villager, Ozawa’s "mother-in-law" is about 30 or 40 years old. "She works at home. When she is not busy, she will remove the bricks from the demolished area and sell them." Her "mother-in-law" ears are not good. Kind of silly.
Ozawa's "husband" usually works at home, and works part-time when he is not busy. He also has a 17-year-old brother.
After Ozawa got married, he did some housework at home, "their family conditions are not good."
Yingjing County Police have gone to Ganluo Niuwu Village to investigate the situation and have not yet released the relevant investigation results.
Ozawa's "husband" Amu (pseudonym) said that when he first "married", the agreed dowry was 210,000, and 162,000 was given to the other party, and the remaining 50,000 would be given after marriage.
What is Ozawa's life like after marriage?
A Mu said that the two had a very happy life after marriage.
The two go to work together. Sometimes Amu goes to work and Ozawa cooks at home. If he is at home, he will cook.
After his wife gave birth, he stayed at home for nearly two months to take care of his wife and children.
A Mu said that from the end of last year to the beginning of this year, his wife took the children to live in her natal house for more than 40 days, then returned to her in-law’s house and left the child, and left the next morning.
At that time, he was working out of town. From that day on, his WeChat was blocked by his wife. He called his wife and never accepted it.
The two have since lost contact.
Amu said that he felt baffled. In the years after marriage, his wife had not told him "I was not happy, I didn't want to live" or had other things.
Only last year, my wife sent a message to herself saying, "Why don't you give the remaining gift money?"
After the two lost contact, in April this year, Amu’s father received a call from Ozawa’s family to discuss matters related to retiring and betrothal gifts.
After that, Amu got another news from his wife. In mid-April, he received a call from the matchmaker, saying that his wife "is going to die soon, let me go back and have a look."
Afterwards, he and his wife had a video call and met her for the last time.
"I said why you can't think about it so much, why do you do this? Then I really couldn't control myself, so I hung up the phone." A Mu said sobbing on the phone.
In telephone interviews by The Paper, Amu said many times that he wanted to live with his wife in peace, earn money to pay off debts, and then provide for the children to go to school.
He said that in addition to the 50,000 gift, there are still 30,000 to 40,000 debts. "I'm only in my 20s, and I will pay 10,000 if I earn 10,000."
Regarding the term "drinking", Amu said that he did not drink before. Since last year, he has been under too much pressure and sometimes drinks with friends, but he "does not go crazy" after drinking.
He said that the two originally planned to apply for a marriage certificate after their wife's 18th birthday in May this year, but these things happened unexpectedly.
The weight of the betrothal
According to a villager in Niuwu Village, Ganluo County, after Ozawa's death, his "father-in-law" carried his granddaughter on his back and bought a cow on behalf of his granddaughter and sent it to Ozawa's family, and then returned to Ganluo.
This is considered a courtesy.
But the maiden family still has to refund the man's 150,000 bride price.
Ozawa’s family is not wealthy, and the compensation is more than 200,000 yuan, which is a huge burden for this family.
According to the neighbors of Ozawa's family, traditional concepts have changed a lot now, and his daughter is not married at the age of 23.
Although early marriages have decreased, the bride price is still popular.
An elementary school teacher in Liangshan Prefecture told The Paper that the phenomenon of early marriage has changed in the local area. He graduated from early high school in 2003. When he was in elementary and junior high school, many students in his class suddenly went home to get married.
This situation is rare now.
The problem of the bride price has always existed. As the conditions of many families are getting better, the bride price is even getting higher and higher.
The Paper has noticed that there is a story about bridesmaids circulating in Liangshan Prefecture. The higher the degree, the higher the bride price: 300,000 for high school, 500,000 for undergraduates... The teacher told The Paper that the price for bridesmaid in the story is a bit exaggerated, but the diploma is indeed It is an important standard for "fixed value", generally two or three hundred thousand yuan is more common.
The highest gift he has seen in the local area is 1 million.
"This situation is either due to good family conditions, strong strength, or stubborn thinking." He said.
The teacher got married in 2015 and his wife went to college. He gave a gift of 260,000. He actually gave 200,000.
When The Paper met this teacher in 2017, he was using his spare time to run "wild" to earn money, also because of the high financial pressure at home.
Villagers in Niuwu Village of Ganluo also told The Paper that the girls who had gone to college and had jobs over there received about 400,000 gifts.
A young man working in a unit in Xichang said that with the development of society, marriage is becoming more and more free.
But it seems that the gift money has not decreased. The places where the gift was not accepted are now also affected, and the gift is getting higher and higher. Generally, three to four hundred thousand are more common.
According to local rules, after the marriage, the one who voluntarily regrets the marriage must not only refund the gift, but also compensate the other party for economic losses other than the gift, including the money for the wedding.
Even if you regret your marriage after getting married and having children, you have to bear such compensation.
Local villagers said that this is why Ozawa's "husband" originally paid 150,000 gifts, but now his family still has to refund 210,000.
"The other 60,000 is to compensate for the losses of others." "If you die in your natal family during your regretful marriage, you will not be liable for compensation if you die of illness. If you die from any other cause, your natal family will have to compensate."
Some people have speculated that Ozawa's suicide may have come from the pressure of her natal family to refund the high betrothal gift.
Neighbors of the same race who participated in the mediation of the rebate ceremony of the two sides also believe that Ozawa may have grown up outside and went out to work after not attending school.
The Ganluo area where she is married cannot be compared to the outside world in all aspects. She may not be able to adapt. She wants to "divorce" but puts a heavy burden on her family.
Up to now, there is no authoritative conclusion on the cause of Ozawa's suicide.
(This article is from The Paper. For more original information, please download the "The Paper" APP)
The Paper, News Reporter Xu Hui Xue Shasha