A court in southwestern China yesterday sentenced 51 members of
a ring for trafficking 118 babies across the nation.
Police rescued 41 of the infants in March.
The six main organizers of the ring were sentenced to death,
reported the Intermediate People's Court in Yulin, Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region. Two were given a two-year grace.
Another five members were imprisoned for life. The remaining 40
convicts were given jail terms of at least?1.5 years.
The ringleader, Xie Deming, 58, was a villager in the city's
Fumian District. Six of Xie's family members were involved in the
baby-trafficking business.
Starting from 2001, Xie and the six family members bought 45
baby girls on 44 occasions from medical workers and illegal
midwives in Fumian District, the court said.
They sold the infants to others including Cui Yongxian, a native
of Yongcheng in central Henan
Province; and Zhang Xiaogao of Bozhou, Anhui
Province.
Cui and Zhang brought the babies to Yongcheng and Bozhou and
sold them to other human traffickers.
Of the 28 babies rescued by police on March 17, 23 were bought
by Cui and Zhang from Xie.
Cui trafficked 24 babies. He was also blamed for the death of a
trafficked baby. He gave the infants sleeping pills to prevent them
from crying and carried them in suitcases. One baby died when
discovered by police in Binyang County at a checkpoint on March
17.
Xin Lifang and her husband Chen Shancai were also villagers in
Fumian District. Xin and Chen trafficked 27 and 23 babies
respectively.
Twelve medical workers?-- mostly nurses and pediatricians
in Fumian?-- were involved in the smuggling ring.
They were paid between 100 yuan (US$12) and 200 yuan per
baby.
(Shanghai Daily July 24, 2004)