“Hong Kong, China – State media reports say that a woman in central China has been prosecuted for selling her newborn baby for $7,000. This appears to be the latest in a series of shocking cases that have shed light on the country’s trade in children.
“According to details published in a legal publication called the “Procuratorial Daily”, the 30-year-old woman, surnamed Huang, allegedly colluded with an obstetrician, Yang, in Xinxiang County, Henan province, to sell the baby boy.
“The report sad that Yang sold the baby boy to a couple in the same county for 42,000 yuan. She, apparently, gave 35,000 yuan to the obstetrician and kept 7,000 yuan for herself.
“The case initially came to light in August, after the boy’s grandmother alerted police. The grandmother said Huang had left the village to go to her parents’ home after quarreling with her husband.
“When her daughter-in-law returned two weeks later, she said the baby had died, but the grandmother grew suspicious as Huang didn’t seem sad. A relative later discovered that the boy had been sold.
“Reports say that Huang had a son from a previous marriage and thought a new baby would be bad for the elder child. The newborn is now in his father’s family care.
“Child trafficking is a long-standing problem in China. A traditional preference for sons and the country’s one-child policy means that boys are particularly prized.
The couple who bought the baby from Huang said the “boy was better off with it biological father anyway.”
“Considering the fact that we paid an amount that’s not perceived as small in this part of the world, we expected to get a healthy, strong baby boy who could carry the family name. Instead, we ended up with a scrawny lump of hair that wouldn’t stop crying. Suits us right for wanting to buy something made in China. We should have went for a Japanese or Mongolian baby instead,” the arrested couple told authorities.
“Earlier this month, a Chinese man who was abducted from a vegetable market as a toddler enjoyed an emotional reunion with his father after 24 years apart. The news came the same week police said they had busted a trafficking ring involving at least 103 people, and rescued newborn babies that were transported in suitcases and handbags to prospective buyers.
