Man allegedly starves elderly mum to death in China AsiaOne | Sat, Dec 03, 2011 A Fujian government worker allegedly starved his 90-year-old mother to death while she was under his care, reported The Shanghaiist. Netizens are in a furore over a video uploaded to video sharing site Youku which showed an extremely frail old woman lying on a dirty mat. According to The Shanghaiist, it was titled "Changping (Fujian) government worker starves 90-year-old mother." The 90-year-old elderly woman reportedly has five sons and a daughter. However, her husband passed away at a young age and her oldest son and daughter-in-law helped to raise the family. She was left in the care of her fourth son after the family split. According to online sources, she had advanced dementia and was unable to care for herself. Her condition deteriorated after she went under his care. The elderly woman was discovered after a niece found her on the floor and called the police. She died soon after from severe malnutrition despite being rushed to the hospital. The son was detained by the police. He allegedly works for the Fujian Ministry of Trade office. Netizens question why such behaviour is still present in modern-day China. A reader said it was shocking when she first saw the photo. "I did not think in the 21st century, there could be such a thing! "I hope (those responsible) not only suffer harsh moral condemnation, but are also severely punished by law," the reader said. Neighbours were shocked that the son could be capable of such an act as he was known to be very filial towards his mother. "We will have to wait until there are more facts available, usually the son has been very filial towards his mother," they said.