Police of the Inner
Mongolia Autonomous Region announced on Monday that they have
arrested 95 people in connection with the illegal sale of 76
infants.
Police in Hohhot, the regional capital, put the investigation
into high gear after the arrest on May 11 of the first two
suspects.
The 43-year-old Ren Suyan, a native of a village near Hohhot, is
believed to be a key person in the group. He was also
apprehended.
Police found a notebook containing detailed information on the
infants and their families.
Zhang Yi, of the Hohhot Public Security Bureau, said that since
2003, the group has illegally purchased infants less than five days
old from parents at about 30 local private clinics and hospitals
and traded them to accomplices in four other provinces.
"The investigation shows that the infants' parents are mainly
migrant workers, unmarried women and even college students in and
around Hohhot," Zhang said.
The case has drawn the attention of the central government. In
line with a directive from the State Council, China's cabinet, the
Ministry of Public Security has established a special organization
to conduct a full investigation in the involved provinces and
regions.
(Xinhua News Agency July 14, 2004)