Eight Get Death Penalty For Trafficking in Children

Eight Get Death Penalty For Trafficking in Children

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The Intermediate People's Court of this capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, Friday sentenced eight child-traffickers to death at the first trial.

Chen Qifu, the head of the gang, and 23 other gang members abducted and sold 42 infants, 41 young boys and one girl from 1997 through 1999, from Guizhou Province to south China's Guangdong Province, according to the court.

Chen himself sold 27 children, and Zhang Changhu sold ten; Yin Zucheng, a woman, sold 19; and Qi Dengying, also a woman, sold 9; another four criminals sold one child each, the court said in the judgment. They all received the death penalty.

Three others -- Luo Ronghong, Chen Baomei and Huang Shaozhong -- were given life imprisonment, with deprivation of political rights for life and a fine of 20,000 yuan (about US$2,400) each.

The remaining gang members were sentenced to jail terms varying from 6 to 10 years and fined 2,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan.