http://www.leadertelegram.com/local_news/story/article_c9326fa0-b05a-51e2-9ed3-1c30bef42242.htmlAuthorities say heavy metal tow chains and padlocks were used to hold a developmentally disabled 21-year-old Eau Claire man in his mother's basement, where he is suspected of being beaten with wooden sticks and boxing gloves.Mai Vang Xiong, 57, and Song Xiong, 48, 3925 Meadowwood Drive, were arrested by Eau Claire police Monday night after their son, Cheng Xiong, was found in a Melby Street convenience store with a heavy chain wrapped around his ankles.A search warrant signed by Eau Claire County Judge Michael Schumacher was executed shortly after midnight Tuesday at 3318 Davey St. on the far north side of Eau Claire at the home of Mai Vang Xiong.Both parents were released from the Chippewa County Jail on $500 cash bonds.Chippewa County District Attorney Jon Theisen said a criminal complaint likely won't be filed until an initial court appearance is set for the Xiongs. They have a court hearing scheduled for December."Right now the most obvious charge is false imprisonment," Theisen said. "There are allegations of physical abuse or battery."Eau Claire police were called to the scene, but charges are pending in Chippewa County because the convenience store and the Davey Street residence are in the portion of Eau Claire that lies in Chippewa County.Megan Sheehan, a part-time clerk at Direct Store, 3426 E. Melby St., said she'd seen Cheng Xiong in the store on two prior occasions in the past couple of months. She said she suspected his past behavior could indicate abuse but didn't have enough evidence to report it.He entered the store Monday evening and slowly approached Sheehan at the counter."He was very quiet, and he asked for a key," she said.Sheehan said she didn't understand until Cheng Xiong pointed to the chain wrapped around his feet. She asked him to sit down while a customer called police for help.Eau Claire police were called to the store at 6:45 p.m. Monday to check on an adult male who was walking around the store barefoot with a heavy chain wrapped around his ankles and padlocked together, according to a police report.When officers found him at the store, Cheng Xiong appeared frightened and knew limited English. According to the search warrant, Cheng Xiong was barefoot in 40-degree weather with a length of the chain dragging behind him.Injuries on his heels from the chain prompted Eau Claire police Officer Donn Adams to drive the man to Luther Hospital, where firefighters used a mechanical device to cut off the chains.According to Adams' search warrant application, Cheng Xiong said he had been beaten by his father and two other men with a wooden stick Monday and one of them punched him with a boxing glove. He said he was frequently beaten.Cheng Xiong had gone to the convenience store because he wanted to escape to a friend's home on Birch Street to avoid future beatings, according to the search warrant. He told officers he was frequently chained to a metal pole in the basement, where he slept on the floor.Family members indicated Cheng Xiong has an estimated mental capacity of a third- or fourth-grader, according to the search warrant.One neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said she saw police at the house recently but never had seen signs of someone who had been abused or chained up."I've never seen anybody like that over there," she said, adding that it is shocking to think of such things possibly happening in the neighborhood. "You think you know your neighbors, but you don't."
