Beijing Morning Post
May 19, 2009

A 31-year-old Russian woman was taken to Peking University First Hospital yesterday for injuries caused by domestic violence. The woman, who is identified as Aliona by the newspaper, was suffering from a ruptured spleen and massive bruises inflicted by her Chinese husband, a man named Liu. A photo on the front page of today's Beijing Morning Post shows the woman lying bandaged on her hospital bed.

Aliona, formerly a dancer, first met Liu in 1999 when she came Beijing for a performance. The couple got married in 2000 and have been living in the city ever since. Liu, once a professional boxer, currently runs a Karaoke bar.

According to Aliona, although her husband has always been ill-tempered, it was only after 2007 that he started physically abusing her and their eight-year-old son.

Aliona suspected that the change might has to do with her husband's drug problem. Back in 2007, she discovered some white crystalized powder at home. When she asked about it, her husband told her that it was just ordinary medicine to help him relax, and he invited her to take some.

On May 10, after finding out that Aliona was planning to take a job as an English teacher at a kindergarten, Liu, who had always opposed his wife going to work, beat her up. The next day Aliona reported the beating to the police and consulted a divorce lawyer. When she returned home that night, accompanied by Liu's father, she was beaten again. The senior Liu, who tried to intervene, was struck by his son with a three-sectioned flail.

Aliona, who suffered a kick to the stomach, had her spleen removed in the hospital. Liu is under police custody.

Above the photo of Aliona is a picture of the first Airbus A320 airliner assembled in China successfully finishing its first trial flight and landing at Tianjin Binhai International Airport.