It is claimed that Zhang Qi, 24, has lived in squalid conditions since 2009 after her mum and dad ordered her to split up with her boyfriend
A woman was locked in a shed and "treated like an animal" because her mum and dad didn't like her boyfriend, it has been claimed.
Police are investigating claims that Zhang Qi, 24, was allegedly locked up for SIX YEARS after being made to dump her boyfriend in 2009.
Despite being told the relationship was over, Zhang tried several times to run away before her parents told everybody that she was mentally ill and being locked up for her own protection, a villager in Jingang in China's Hubei province said.
Chow Jen, 50, said: "Her parents are powerful people here and everyone was told not to interfere.
"Everyone knew about the girl in the house. I moved away and only come back to visit occasionally so I don't care about their threats, and that's why I was happy to expose these pictures online after the local authorities refused to do anything."
There has been no official comment on the story or on the current status of the young woman since the images were posted.
But many copies of the pictures have reportedly been removed from the internet by Chinese censors without a reason being specified.
Chow Jen said: "Every time I came back for Chinese New Year I went to visit her secretly.
"On my latest visit though I saw her lying on a pile of straw with a couple of blankets and some food around her and I just decided enough was enough.
"Whether what they say about her having mental problems is true or not, she is being treated like an animal here and I’m sick of it so I contacted the police, and then posted the images online."