A note allegedly found within a pair of Primark socks is going viral online after a reported translation suggested serious human rights abuse in China.
The letter was posted online by Lucy Kirk who says that her Dad purchased the socks a week ago in Huddersfield before discovering the letter, written entirely in Chinese.
After an appeal for the note to be translated a disturbing story emerged regarding a 34-year-old man in China called Ting Kun Ding.
According to the translation Ting Kun Ding attempted to report corrupt government officials, but was then imprisoned himself for ‘blackmail’.
The note then supposedly describes how the man and his wife were tortured, with his wife being forced into a mental institution and his father being killed in May 2014.
The story has sparked the hashtag #HelpTingKunDing on Twitter, with Primark using the social media site to start their investigation.
We spoke to Lucy to find out what she has been advised to do with the letter.
She said:
I’ve been advised to go to the Chinese embassy but the note specifically said to go straight to the media, and the Chinese government, so I’d like to stick by the request really, out of respect.”
Worryingly it is not the first time such a story has been reported regarding Primark. Tales of similar notes making their way into the low cost store’s clothing have been made numerous times over the past two years.
In October of this year the NewsTalk reported a note was found in the exact same manner, inside a sock at a Penney’s store, as the brand is known in Ireland.
According to NewsTalk that note told a similar story of a 39-year-old who had been imprisoned, and his family also tortured.
The letter, translated by Amnesty International, signed off “Now only the state leaders or media exposure can help to save me.”
Primark announced at the time that there was no “link between the garment, the author of the note nor any evidence of forced labour.”
The BBC also reported a note found at Primark’s Belfast store in June of 2014.
The regularity of similar reports suggests a dark underlying issue, but as yet there is no complete explanation.
UNILAD has contacted Lucy Kirk and continues to make enquiries into the veracity of the letter. Updates will be posted as they become available.
