Death sentence for gang leader who sold babies
A Chinese court has sentenced to death the leader of a gang that abducted and sold 120 baby girls, the government said today.
The 15-member gang was accused of selling the babies to make money, in the city of Puyang in central China’s Henan province from 1998 to 2003, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
There was no word on the fate of the girls. China is trying to stop a thriving trade in baby girls, who are bought by families who want a daughter, a servant or a future bride for a son.
Other girls are abandoned or sold by families that prefer boys. The scale of the trade isn’t clear, but the Justice Ministry says some 10,000 babies were rescued during a three-month nationwide crackdown in 2000.
China limits most couples to having only one child to curb population growth.
In the Henan case, the province’s highest court sentenced gang leader Li Guoju to death and seized all his property, Xinhua said. Li was personally involved in the abduction and sale of 76 baby girls, it added.
Fellow gang members Yu Xiumin and Zhang Xinfa were sentenced to life in prison and fined 20,000 yuan (€2,006), the report said. Yu was involved in the abduction and sale of 34 girls, and Zhang of 28 girls, it said.
Another 12 defendants received sentences of between one year and 15 years in prison, Xinhua said.
Li and most of the gang members plan to appeal, it said.
Puyang is about 300 miles south-west of Beijing.
