Hebei police crack down on baby selling ring
Staff Reporter 2012-07-07 17:31 (GMT+8)
Hebei gynecologist Guo Yanfang confesses to police that she engaged in the sale of infants. (Internet photo)
Police in China's Hebei province on July 2 arrested a female gynecologist who was allegedly "selling babies."
"The gynecologist became a suspect because most of her patients came from out of town, which did not make sense at all," said He Runzhou of Hebei's Pingxiang county police department. "This is the first time for us to discover a gynecologist involved in such a crime."
Police's investigation showed that the gynecologist, Guo Yanfang, sought potential buyers, telling them the baby's gender prior to its birth.
The police officer He said that the department began to investigate Guo last December. The crime ring that Guo is involved in consisted of more than 30 suspects from seven provinces. Guo's clinic became a "center" for the trade because it is not covered by any health insurance.
She also does not issue any official birth certificates, meaning most of her patients had transgressed China's one-child policy. These women naturally became the most likely "sellers," who would request Guo to "ask around" for buyers.
Guo said that most baby buyers were couples who could not have their own children. She admitted to the police that she would earn fat paychecks from these "cases."
She told the police that her "commission" would be something between 2,000 and 5,000 yuan (US$310-US$790), while the pregnant woman who sold her infants would earn something between 30,000 and 50,000 yuan (US$4,700-US$7,850).
The police said that a baby girl costs between 30,000 and 50,000 yuan in the "market," while a baby boy costs between 70,000 and 80,000 yuan (US$11,000-US$12,600).
