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CHINA - WOMAN OBSTETRICIAN'S HARSH SENTENCE IS LITTLE COMFORT IN BABY TRAFFICKING SCANDAL
FILE - Zhang Shuxia, an
obstetrician involved in baby trafficking, stands trial in Weinan Intermediate
People's Court in
Chinese
authorities have handed down a harsh sentence in the country's latest
human trafficking scandal, but it is of little comfort to the hundreds of
thousands who have lost their children over the years.
Five years ago, human traffickers drugged Wu Xinghu and his wife while they
slept in their home in China’s Northern province of Shaanxi. When the couple
awoke, their newborn, Jiacheng, was missing.
Human trafficking, especially involving children, is a long-standing problem in
China. Statistics on the crime are scant, but analysts estimate at least
200,000 children are lost every year to trafficking. Few are later recovered.
Wu said he is not convinced the situation will get any better for parents like
him. “People are, in fact, indifferent to these children's stories,” he said.
“Many are looking in, but nobody takes action.”
China’s courts are taking some action, though for some, it may not be enough.
In a case unrelated to the disappearance of Wu Xinghu's child, former
obstetrician Zhang Shuxia in Shaanxi province, was given a suspended death
sentence Tuesday for trafficking infants under her care. Her sentence ends a
trial that deeply touched the public in China.
History of such crimes
According to the court, Zhang sold seven babies to traffickers when she was a
doctor. She received $3,300 for a female newborn or $7,700 for a male,
the court said. She would deceive parents into thinking their children
had died, or were gravely ill. Of the seven, one child died and was abandoned
in a garbage ditch by the trafficker whom Zhang had sold the baby to. The other
six were safely returned to their families after Zhang was arrested.
The court was not able to ascertain responsibility for the death of the child.
Throughout the trial, which started last August, many in China called for the
courts to give Zhang the harshest sentence because, as a maternity doctor, she
had special responsibilities to protect her patients.
“In her capacity as medical personnel, the defendant Zhang Shuxia used her
diagnostic knowledge to fabricate incurable diseases and lie about body
deformities to traffic new born babies,” said the court.
Criminal lawyer Tang Hongxin said that Zhang's verdict shows that courts in
China are exercising increasing pressure regarding crimes against women and
children.
“The conclusion of this case is a deliberate show of strength to act as a
warning for other offenders involved in similar crimes,” he said.
But as the verdict was announced on Tuesday, some reacted with disappointment.
In China, a suspended death sentence can be commuted to life in prison or even
15 or 20 years if the prisoner does not commit crimes during the first two
years of imprisonment.
“What is the reason for the suspended sentence,” wrote a lawyer surnamed Zhang
on his microblog account. “They should execute the death penalty immediately.”
Enforcing ethics
Shi Pu, a professor of finance, wrote on his twitter-like Weibo account that
there are two professions where chaos is not allowed.
“One is doctors who cure and save, the other is professors who teach and
educate,” he wrote on Tuesday. "If you violate the profession's ethics,
then this society loses all cleanness."
For some whose children have long disappeared to traffickers, a trial will not
solve the systemic problems of people profiting from the sale of babies in the
countryside.
“People at the hospital had to know about it, they all use their position of
power to sell babies,” said Wu. He said what happened in Zhang's hospital is
not unusual, and it often entails a network of institutional protection.
“She was a scapegoat when the case became too big to be covered up,” he said.
According to Chinese media, five local officials have been fired following the
human trafficking scandal, including the hospital's chief and the head of the
local health department.