It was the story that shocked China.  Little Guo Bin (known affectionately as Bin Bin), a 6-year old child, was playing outside his home when he was lured away and had both of his eyes gouged out by a woman in Shanxi Province late last month.  The prime suspect was his aunt, who killed herself six days later. Blood from the boy was apparently found on her clothes.

Bin Bin has since been transported down here to Shenzhen, where he arrived on Sunday to have artificial eyes fitted. He will also get navigation sensors to help him detect shapes, the South China Morning Post reports.

Bin Bin with his mother, image courtesy of South China Morning Post

Although the technology to restore his eyesight does not currently exist, doctors are hopeful that he will see again.

The paper has more:

“He was very excited [about the plane trip]“, said Dr Dennis Lam Shun-chiu at whose hospital Bin-Bin will be treated.

“He asked his mother whether they were in the sky already. He went near a window and wanted to see the sky but he couldn’t,” Lam said.

“He still has hope that he will be able to see again. His parents dare not tell him that the chance is small.”

Lam, who saw the boy at his C-MER Dennis Lam Eye Hospital on Sunday, said Bin-Bin had told investigators he was aware that he had lost his eyes and said it was a woman who did it.

Since the attack two weeks ago he has been treated at a hospital in Shanxi. Lam, who is offering free treatment for the boy, said his wounds were stable and there were no signs of infection.

After four to eight weeks, doctors will give him prosthetic eye pieces that are coloured to look like normal eyes. These will be attached to eye tissues and muscles to give normal eye movement.

Lam has also ordered navigation sensors from Japan and Europe and hopes Bin-Bin can start learning to use them in the next few months. If necessary, he might go to Germany or Japan for training.

The navigation devices, worn on the forehead or tongue, capture images and translate them into electric signals that stimulate the skin. He is expected to stay in Shenzhen for 2-3 months after the operation.

The motive of the attack may never be known.