Chinese health authorities have promised an overhaul in hospitals across the country following the arrest of an obstetrician for allegedly selling newborns to human traffickers, state media reports.
Police in Fuping County
in China's northwestern Shaanxi Province said that the doctor, named by
the South China Morning Post as Zhang Shuxia, had allegedly sold
"several" babies to human traffickers. Police were investigating five
other similar cases which had also occurred in Fuping County Maternal
and Child Health Care Hospital, reported the state-run Xinhua news
agency.
One of the babies was
returned to its parents amid emotional scenes on Monday, after its
identity was confirmed through DNA testing. As family members wept, the
parents knelt to thank police for recovering their son, the state-run
China Daily reported.
Fuping County authorities
said the baby boy had been allegedly sold for 21,600 yuan ($3,527) by
Zhang on July 17, the day after he was born. Police said Zhang had
allegedly told the child's parents, Dong Shanshan and Lai Guofeng, that
their son had serious congenital illnesses, and convinced them to
surrender the boy into his care, reported Xinhua.
The mother, Dong,
subsequently reported what had happened to police, and the infant was
eventually found in a good condition in a town in neighboring Henan
Province Sunday. Zhang and five other suspects have been detained on
suspicion of human trafficking, while the hospital's head and two
deputies have been sacked, reported Xinhua.
China's state health commission has called for severe punishment for those involved.
"(The commission's
leadership) see it as morally degraded, illegal and intolerable," said
Mao Qunan, spokesman for the National Health and Family Planning
Commission.
The commission vowed to
impose stricter management of medical services and implement stronger
ethics training across the country to prevent similar cases.
0 comments:
Post a Comment