KEY POINTS:
The little girl seized in last week's Auckland kidnapping drama is traumatised and has memory loss as a result of her five days in captivity.
Five-year-old Xin Xin Ma struggles to remember recent events and has become "stuck as a 3-year-old", her worried mother, Jin Zhou, told the Weekend Herald.
She recalls nothing of her ordeal, including the five days she was held in a wardrobe after being abducted from outside her Albany home on July 14.
Xin Xin was given only one meal - of rice and water - a day and as a result had lost 3kg, her mother said.
Ms Zhou said she would not put any pressure on Xin Xin to remember what happened.
"I am very, very worried about what long-term psychological effects this may have on her."
She said Xin Xin had not been back to Kristin School since the new term started, and would be seeing a child psychologist next week.
After police returned Xin Xin last weekend, the family - including both sets of grandparents - took her to Taupo and the Whakapapa skifield, hoping the holiday would help her to "get back to normal".
"We thought being away from Auckland would help heal some of the hurt, anger and bad feelings we all had in the last two weeks," Ms Zhou said.
But Xin Xin was still far from the bubbly and cheerful child that she was before the abduction.
Ms Zhou's estranged husband, Mark Jian Ma, has been looking after Xin Xin since they returned.
Her paternal grandfather - who wanted to be known only as Mr Ma - said in Mandarin: "She is stuck like glue to her father, and is so afraid to let go or even let him out of her sight."
He said Xin Xin would "cry for no apparent reason in the middle of the night" and had no appetite for food.
Yesterday, there were emotional scenes as the man charged with Xin Xin's kidnapping returned to court on the North Shore.
Grandfather Ma wept as the 25-year-old real estate agent - who has interim name suppression - was led into the dock.
The man stood with his back to Xin Xin's family and friends - including her paternal grandparents and mother - as he was remanded in custody until the end of next month.
But he stopped to look at the family as he was led from court, prompting an emotional Grandfather Ma and his wife to leap towards him, yelling in Mandarin, "How dare you harm this young child."
Outside court, Mr Ma told Chinese media, "I will never forgive him", and his wife said, "I want to kill him."
Ms Zhou and Mr Ma yesterday denied reports linking the kidnapping to the business dealings of Xin Xin's father, or disputes about moving her to Australia.
- Elizabeth Binning
EXPERT'S VERDICT: HORRIFIC, BUT SHE CAN RECOVER
Memory loss, waking during the night, loss of appetite and other problems suggest Xin Xin Ma is suffering acute post-traumatic stress, a clinical psychologist says.
Dr Ian Lambie, a senior lecturer of child psychology at Auckland University, said he had not examined Xin Xin, but the symptoms reported by the Weekend Herald were to be expected in a child who had suffered an ordeal like hers.
Humans could cope with only a certain level of stress. When that level was exceeded, the body responded with physiological changes, including heart-rate and chemical changes, which left lasting symptoms, he said.
"People can only cope with so much ... And obviously, for a child, it's even more so."
Children needed a trusted, consistent, loving environment, he said. Xin Xin's kidnapping, and her alleged imprisonment in a wardrobe, would have been the opposite of that.
Adults also showed behavioural effects when they were affected by post traumatic stress, but they were usually able to talk through a lot of the problems.
Children found it much more difficult to articulate their fears.
Xin Xin could be suffering from flashbacks, confusion and fear, and her symptoms were normal reactions for a child under such circumstances, he said.
But recovery was possible, and Xin Xin's parents' decision to see a child psychologist was a very sensible move, Dr Lambie said.
"Obviously it's a horrific thing that's happened to her, but it certainly is treatable.
"And children can get over things. Children are very resilient. They do bounce back."
- Craig Borley
