THE only surviving sex slave in Nanjing who came forth to testify about the Japanese invaders' "comfort women" atrocities was still in critical condition Monday (Apr 23) after suffering a brain hemorrhage.

Lei Guiying, 79, was forced to be a comfort woman when she was 13 years old during the invasion of China by Japanese troops during World War II, media reports said yesterday.

Lei is in the Jiangsu Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine where a doctor said she is on her deathbed.

Li Cuilan, Lei's daughter-in-law, said Lei began vomiting 7 p.m. Sunday. "She fell unconscious when we sent her to the hospital," Li said.

Su Qinglin, a doctor at the hospital, said the old woman would be kept under observation in the hospital.

A Nanjing resident named Qin Jie, 74, a survivor of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, donated 2,000 yuan (US$256.40) for Lei's treatment.

"We will protect these witnesses to preserve the history," Qin said.

Lei took a bottle of potassium permanganate when escaping from sexual slavery 64 years ago. The chemical was used by the Japanese to wash and disinfect the women.

The chemical was typically used in sex slave quarters, according to former Japanese soldiers and documents, and can be used as important evidence to confirm the history of comfort women.

About 200,000 Chinese women were forced into sexual slavery nationwide during the invasion by Japanese troops. Most women have died, or have not spoken out publicly for fear of prejudice. Only 84 comfort women have been identified on the Chinese mainland.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has apologized for the wartime sex slavery.

"As Japan's prime minister, I am extremely sorry that they were made to endure such pain. We feel responsible over the situation in which the women had to exist as 'comfort women' and endure such hardship." Abe said.

Editor: Wing