Court triggers debate by seizing savings of couple with third child
A local court's announcement that it seized about 23,000 yuan ($3,400) from a couple who failed to pay a fine for having a third child has sparked heated debate about the ruling's legitimacy.
The couple, residents of a village in Chengwu county, in Heze, Shandong province, welcomed their third child into the world on Jan 5, 2017, but didn't pay the required social maintenance fee of 64,626 yuan, according to a notice released by the Chengwu County People's Court on Sunday. Provincial regulations require that the fee be paid within 30 days.
Social maintenance fees, which were formerly classified as fines for having more than one child, are collected by local governments from families who have more children than allowed - two in most regions - to compensate the authorities for the child's future use of social resources.
