When an Arizona woman opened up the zipper compartment of a purse she bought at her local Walmart, she found something unexpected—a note from an alleged Chinese prisoner.
Laura Wallace had the note translated by several people, according to News 4 Tuscon. And they all came up with the same translation alleging horrible living and working conditions at Yingshan Prison:
“Inmates in the Yingshan Prison in Guangxi, China are working 14 hours daily with no break/rest at noon, continue working overtime until 12 midnight, and whoever doesn’t finish his work will be beaten. Their meals are without oil and salt. Every month, the boss pays the inmate 2000 yuan, any additional dishes will be finished by the police. If the inmates are sick and need medicine, the cost will be deducted from the salary. Prison in China is unlike prison in America, horse cow goat pig dog (literally, means inhumane treatment).”
Walmart responded to Wallace’s find, telling News 4 Tuscon, “We can’t comment specifically on this note, because we have no way to verify the origin of the letter, but one of our requirements for the suppliers who supply products for sale at Walmart is all work should be voluntary as indicated in our Standards for Suppliers.”
Wallace said that she didn’t know how else to help the person behind the note, so she wanted to bring light to the situation. “I don’t want this to be an attack on any store,” she said. “That’s not the answer. This is happening at all kinds of places and people just probably don’t know.”
A shopper found a similar note by a Chinese prisoner in a box of decorations from Kmart in 2012.