Shaanxi doctor in court over child trafficking

A case involving a gynecologist accused of trafficking newborn babies came before the Intermediate People’s Court in Weinan, Shaanxi province on Dec 30.

The court, hearing the case in public, heard allegations surrounding Zhang Shuxia.

Zhang, deputy director of a local maternal and child healthcare hospital in Fuping county, was detained on suspicion of human trafficking in August.

The detention follows accusations by a couple that their newborn baby boy was taken away after Zhang claimed the baby was suffering from syphilis and hepatitis B transmitted from the mother and would not survive, according to people.com.cn.

The baby boy was rescued by police on Aug 5, according to the report.

The county police confirmed that five cases concerning babies allegedly taken by Zhang have been recorded in police files.

Six other local health officials, including the director and deputy director of the county’s health bureau, were removed from their posts in August, it said. 

XI'AN - A gynecologist in northwest China's Shaanxi Province has been detained by police on suspicion of trafficking a newborn baby, local police said on Friday.

The gynecologist, surnamed Zhang, from Fuping County Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, is alleged to have sold the newborn for 21,600 yuan (3,494 US dollars) on July 17 to two men from the neighboring Shanxi Province, according to the county's public security bureau.

Police found Zhang had lied to the baby's mother after her delivery on July 16 that her child had a congenital infectious disease and disability and tricked her into letting him handle the baby.

A suspected baby trafficking case in Fuping county, Shaanxi province, continues to develop as more couples claim they were duped into giving up their newborn babies.

The county police confirmed on Wednesday that the parents of 10 children delivered at Fuping Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital have reported their babies were also taken away by Zhang Suxia, deputy director of the hospital's maternity department.

Wang Yanyan, a farmer in Fuping, said she gave birth twins on May 31 and was told by the doctor the babies suffered from "congenital diseases" and would not live past three years.