Opinion | Zhejiang woman 'abandons' second child to avoid fines

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Chen gave her daughter away to a relative, who later claimed to have found her at their doorstep. Photo: Weibo

Published: 12:12pm, 8 Feb 2013Updated: 3:50pm, 8 Feb 2013

A woman in China’s eastern Zhejiang province ''abandoned" her recently-born second child, a two-month-old baby girl, only to ''adopt'' her later - hoping to avoid fines from birth control authorities, Zhejiang based Qianjiang Evening News reported on Friday.

The 37-year-old woman, surnamed Chen, gave birth to a girl in November last year. She then gave the baby to a relative who later told police they had found an abandoned baby at their doorstep.

The police grew suspicious after Chen anxiously tried to drive away people who wanted to adopt the baby, claiming she would adopt it herself.

A DNA test later confirmed Chen was the biological mother, the report said.

Among recent blunders relating to China’s one-child policy, an official demanding a couple pay a fine crushed their 13-month-old boy to death under a car on Monday. the official said it was an accident, but many do not believe this. The incident sparked a national outcry and renewed heated discussions over the controversial policy, as well as executions by local officials.

Though think tanks continuously urge China to end its one-child policy , which exempts some rural families, ethnic minorities and couples who are both only children, the government said it has prevented overpopulation and boosted economic development.

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