Submitted by CRIN on
[17 January 2014] -
Zhang Shuxia, 55, an obstetrician in north-western Shaanxi province's Fuping county, was found guilty on 14 January of selling the babies for as much as 21,600 yuan ($3,600) each between 2011 and 2013, the court in Weinan city said.
Zhang tricked the parents to give up their newborns by convincing them the infants had incurable diseases or deformities, the court said in a statement on its website.
"Though Zhang Shuxia confessed, her behaviour violated both professional and social ethics, had an extremely bad social impact, and the circumstance of the crimes were grave," the court said.
A trafficker threw one sick child into a garbage ditch, presuming she was dead, the statement said. Zhang was not convicted in connection with the child's death, but the court ruled she was partly responsible. The baby was never found.
The other six infants were rescued by police and returned to their families.
The official Xinhua news agency said it was unclear if Zhang, who was detained in August and stood trial in December, would appeal. Suspended death sentences are typically reduced to life in prison.
Child trafficking is widespread in China, where population control policies have bolstered a traditional bias for male offspring, seen as the main support for elderly parents and heirs to the family name, and have resulted in abortions, killings or abandonment of girls.
The imbalance has created criminal demand for abducted or bought baby boys, but also for baby girls destined to be future brides attracting rich dowries.
Further information:
- Visit CRIN's page on China
- Read the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography
- Visit the Special Procedure website on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography