52 on trial over alleged baby-selling operation
Dozens of people allegedly involved in buying and selling at least 118 babies have gone on trial in the southwestern province of Guangxi, state media reports say.
Police said 52 suspects from several baby-trading syndicates had been active in Guangxi, Henan, Anhui and Hubei provinces.
They allegedly bought 118 newborns from hospitals and villages in Yulin city, Guangxi, and resold them on the black market in other provinces. All the infants were girls, except one, Xinhua said.
Investigators said one family in Yulin had bought at least 64 infants from health workers and village midwives, while another couple had bought 31. In one case a woman had been persuaded to give up her baby girl for adoption, but the infant was later sold for 400 yuan (HK$376).
Xinhua said another group of baby traders from Henan and Hubei provinces would buy infants from brokers in Yulin and sell them in Anhui and Henan provinces. The brokers would typically drug the babies and put them in bags before transporting them on trains or buses, police say.
The Xinhua report said the price of baby depended on their health and size, but in many cases the parents sold them for between 100 and 200 yuan. In some cases babies would be sold for as little as 50 yuan.
After the babies were trafficked to Anhui and Henan, they would sell for between 2,000 and 3,000 yuan, the report said.
Eleven out of the 52 suspects were midwives and hospital staff from maternity wards in Yulin. There were no details about the other suspects.
The trial started last week and was continuing, the report said.
