China: Baby Beaten by Schoolgirl 'Awakes from Coma'

A Chinese toddler who was beaten by a schoolgirl and allegedly thrown from a balcony of a building has reportedly survived the attack.

Shocking footage aired by state broadcaster Chongqing Broadcasting Group showed the girl, said to be aged between 10 and 12, slamming and kicking the 18-month-old baby boy, identified only as Yuanyuan, inside an elevator.

Yuanyuan was later found covered in blood in bushes on the ground outside the building.

According to early reports the baby had died from his injuries.

However, local media later said that he was taken to a hospital where he was listed as being in critical condition with multiple fractures and a ruptured lung.

Yuanyuan's father wrote on a blog post that his baby had woken from a coma and remained under observation at the Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University.

"I haven't seen Yuanyuan as I cannot enter the iIntensive care unit. I only heard Yuanyuan was awake and he was crying. Yuanyuan: don't be afraid, Mum and Dad will always guard you," the man wrote, according to the LA Times.

The girl's father defended her action. "She just wanted him to smile to her and to be friendly," he told Beijing News. He denied that his daughter threw the baby off the balcony.

"Police investigation showed that my daughter beat and kick the toddler on the balcony, but [she did] not deliberately throw the boy down. He might have been frightened by a dog barking and fallen off the balcony himself."

Under Chinese laws the girl cannot be charged because of her age. However Yuanyuan's family is reportedly suing her family for damages.