China punishes 11 officials for allowing couples to have 15 children
Chinese authorities have punished 11 officials for allowing a married couple to have 15 children.
According to Asia Wan, Liang Er, 77, and Lu Honglan, 47, had 15 children between 1995 and 2016, when China had a one-child policy. In addition, a man and a woman are not officially registered as husband and wife.
According to local media, the family lives in poverty, works in agriculture, receives government subsidies and public donations. All the children grew up healthy and had identity documents. Four of them are working, the rest are studying.
After the Chinese authorities and netizens learned about the extended family, an investigation was launched. According to its results, 11 officials who did not follow up on family affairs were punished. It is reported that the perpetrators were punished with a warning or a fine.
“This issue reflects the formality and bureaucracy in state bodies and shows the neglect of local authorities in matters of marriage registration and population management,” the statement said.
Earlier in Yakutia, a woman gave birth to her fourteenth child and became the oldest mother in the republic.
