Man convicted of abducting 22 children executed

Tan Yongzhi, who organized and carried out the abductions of 22 infants and children, has been executed, China's top court said Friday. [Photo/people.com.cn]

A man convicted of abducting 22 children has been executed, China's top court said today.

The Supreme People's Court announced the execution of Tan Yongzhi, who organized and carried out the abductions of 22 infants and children, the court said.

Tan kidnapped the victims between February 2008 and April 2013 from areas stretching from Southwest China's Yunnan to Central China's Henan provinces.

The court also said that all of Tan's property was confiscated. Tan's actions and the large number of children he kidnapped seriously damaged children's rights, which is why he was condemned to death by the Zhengzhou Intermediate People's Court in Henan and the top court approved the execution, said the court.

Chinese courts have always provided heavy penalties for those convicted of abducting a child.

In 2010, the nation's top court, the top prosecuting authority and the Ministry of Public Security jointly issued a guideline to increase crackdowns against such criminals.

Since then the abduction of women and children across the country dropped, the top court said.

Chinese courts solved 1,918 cases involving abducted women and children 2012; last year the number fell to 853, the top court said. Meanwhile, 2,801 people were punished in 2012 on criminal charges related to kidnapping, but that figure dropped to 1,362 in 2015, the court said.