BEIJING, Jan 24: A Chinese court today sentenced a hospital official involved in a baby trafficking case to one year imprisonment for dereliction of duty.
The Linwei District People’s Court in Weinan City of China’s northwest Shaanxi Province, which earlier sentenced a Dr Zhang Shuxia to death with two-year reprieve in the same case, awarded one year imprisonment to Si Xin.
Si was a former administrator of the delivery rooms at Fuping County Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital.
Three others were also sentenced.
Wang Li, former president of the hospital, was exempted from punishment.
Former director of the department of obstetrics Gao Wenping received one year in jail with two years’ reprieve.
Former deputy president of the hospital, Yao Junmin, was given six months in prison with one year reprieve, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
On January 14, the main offender, Zhang, an obstetrician at the hospital, was sentenced to death with two years’ reprieve for selling babies to human traffickers.
Zhang was found guilty of selling seven babies, one of whom later died, to traffickers after persuading their parents to give up their “sick” newborns.
The case stirred public outrage in the country for baby trafficking after Zhang’s crime was exposed in July last year, when a mother, surnamed Dong, suspected that her newborn had been abducted and reported the incident to police.
Zhang had persuaded Dong to give up her baby after falsely claiming that the child has a congenital disease.
The baby was found in good health in neighbouring Henan Province on August 5.
Later two twin baby girls were also rescued from neighbouring Shanxi and Shandong provinces in east China on August 10 after their mother, surnamed Wang, contacted police in Fuping.
In less than a month after the scandal was exposed, police received reports of 55 similar infant trafficking cases, including 26 in which Zhang was allegedly involved.
Police investigations found evidence in six of the 26 cases.
Following the scandal, a deputy county Governor, director and a deputy director of the county health bureau were dismissed from their posts. (AGENCIES)
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