Spanish Teacher Sees ‘Guasha’ Marks on Chinese Student, Reports Mother for Child Abuse

Spanish Teacher Sees ‘Guasha’ Marks on Chinese Student, Reports Mother for Child Abuse
May 20, 2014 By eChinacities.com

Chen, a Spanish Chinese woman, was arrested recently on suspicion of child abuse, after her son’s teacher noticed severe red bruising on the child’s neck.

The teacher didn’t know that the marks came from ‘guasha’, a Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment that involves scraping the affected area with an ivory comb. The process is painless, but produces very angry red marks.

When Chen arrived to pick up her nine year old son, she was surprised to discover that the boy had been taken into care, and the police were waiting to arrest her.

After further examination, a doctor confirmed that the marks were not a result of being beaten; coupled with the boy’s testimony, they ruled that there hadn’t been any abuse and returned the boy to his mother’s custody.

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Keywords: Spanish Teacher Sees Guasha Marks on Chinese Student: Reports Mother for Child Abuse

8 Comments

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Benjamin321

I don't think it is child abuse, but does anyone else find it kind of strange to scratch someone all over their back with ivory as a form of holistic medicine?

May 25, 2014 00:26 Report Abuse

andre.oli

lol pobre idiota

May 22, 2014 18:50 Report Abuse

Englteachted

The system works. The teacher recognized possible signs of abuse and notified the school and the school notified the police. The police investigated and found that there was no abuse. Everybody goes home with an interesting story. The police and the school officials did their jobs, that's what happens in civilized countries. Overseasexpat. You are clearly Chinese so I will explain it to you, in civilized countries, abuse is not tolerated and any hint of abuse is reported and investigated thoroughly and honestly.

May 21, 2014 12:39 Report Abuse

Sjama

I agree with you partly, but I still think the teacher exagerated. Getting the police arrest you may cause a bad reputation, especially in civilised country how you call them^^. Moreover, the woman may have missed work and can't pay the bills anymore. First think, then make sure, only then act, except if it's dead urgent.

May 21, 2014 18:00 Report Abuse

Englteachted

I understand that you may not be familiar with how things work in civilized societies. But she was not really arrested. Being detained or brought to the police station for questioning is often mislabeled as arrest. I've been through this a few a few times. Teachers in the USA must report visible marks to the school land the school must report it to the police, the investigation takes less then a few hours. In cases like this, it might just take a few minutes. There will be no record. Civilized people understand the situation and the misunderstanding. It is not like China.

May 22, 2014 17:30 Report Abuse

FHJZ

Really!..Panphobia..

May 21, 2014 12:07 Report Abuse

xunliang

Like the film The Gua Sha Treatment.

May 20, 2014 22:45 Report Abuse

ahopkins767

Good on the teacher for raising her concerns and putting the child's safety first. Pity she will probably suffer now she was wrong... Anyhow. Isn't ivory illegal.

May 20, 2014 20:45 Report Abuse