The Ministry of Public Security on Friday said
that Chinese police rescued 382 infants and
detained over 1,000 suspects in a
nationwide crackdown on four major online
baby-trafficking rings.
The ministry reported that the police seized
the 1,094 suspects in coordinated late-night
raids in 27 places on Feb. 19.
It also accused them of trafficking infants
and setting up illegal online marketing
platforms disguised as adoption or
fostering programmes.
It quoted Liu Ancheng, head of the
ministry’s criminal investigation bureau, as
saying that illegal online activities had
changed child trafficking, which remains a
problem in China in spite of a series of
crackdowns.
“A traditional preference for male heirs and
a state-enforced family planning policy have
fuelled the trade in boys in particular.
“Last month, a court in north-western
China’s Shaanxi province gave a suspended
death sentence to a former hospital doctor
convicted of selling seven babies to
traffickers.
“Zhang Shuxia, an obstetrician at a
maternity hospital, persuaded parents to
hand over six babies by falsely telling them
that the newborn children suffered from
congenital health problems.
“She sold a boy for 21,600 yuan (3,600
dollars) in July to traffickers who resold him
for 59,800 yuan,’’ Liu said. (dpa/NAN)