Police in Shaanxi are investigating a mother’s claims that her new-born child was sold by Zhang Shuxia, a doctor at the Maternal and Childcare Hospital in Fuping. Chris Luo at South China Morning Post reports:
A woman who gave birth two weeks ago and her husband were suspicious Zhang was a member of a child smuggling ring. They told the News that on the day their baby was born, both the mother and the baby were found to be infected with hepatitis and syphilis. Zhang told the couple that the sick child would be a financial burden on the family and talked them into signing a letter of consent to give up the child.
Zhang then took the baby away and charged the couple 100 yuan (HK$126.51) to “dispose of the baby”. The couple said they saw Zhang walk out of the hospital carrying the baby later that day, according to the report.
Tests at another hospital later showed that the mother did not have the two communicable diseases, leading the couple to suspect that Zhang had sold the baby instead of ending its life. Their doubts were reinforced when Zhang tried to offer them 20,000 yuan not to go to the police, they told the paper. [Source]
China Business News says it has received reports of seven other similar cases. See more on child trafficking in China via CDT, and Charlie Custer and Leia Li’s new documentary Living With Dead Hearts for more on the topic.
