A 5-year-old child was released from hospital April 23 after being treated for almost a month for internal injuries caused by falling from an 8th-story balcony while playing with friends and relatives at his home in Zhuhai. The ground was soft and muddy because it was raining so the child, seemingly unhurt, made his own way back up in the elevator and his parents did not notice he was badly injured until the next day, Guangzhou Daily reports.

After noticing something was amiss, the parents took him to Zhuhai Children’s Hospital where doctors found that the child was in a critical condition. He had multiple fractures and had ruptured his kidneys and spleen.

The parents initially told doctors that he had just fallen 1 metre but this was inconsistent with the seriousness of his injuries. They later noticed that the 20-cm imprint that the child had left on the ground was still there.

The child was finally in a stable condition on March 29, a week after the fall.

Last month, China Radio International asked whether China should introduce laws to protect children from negligent parents. What do you think?