Five people were given
jail terms ranging from seven to 14 and a half years for abducting
and trafficking eight children, all boys, in south China's
Guangdong Province.
Tang Xianzhong, Li
Wenquan, Hong Minghua and Wu Caiwan, the four culprits, were also
fined 10,000 yuan (1,333 U.S. dollars), and Yang Hongqiong, their
accomplice was fined 5,000 yuan, said Dongguan Intermediate
People's Court.
Since August 2005, boys
were reported to have been abducted in some villages of Dalang
Town, Dongguan City, the court said.
On April 17, police from
Dongguan caught Yang Hongqiong in eastern Fujian Province and
rescued an eight-year-old boy.
In aid of Yang's clues,
the police rescued another seven abducted boys and arrested the
other four suspects.
According to court
investigation, Tang, Li and Wu usually coaxed the children playing
outside with snacks and then abducted them. They also induced
several adolescents to abduct children and paid them a reward of
100 yuan to 1,000 yuan.
Yang and Hong were
responsible for seeking buyers in Fujian and then selling the
children for 13,000 yuan (about 1,733 U.S. dollars) each, the court
said.
The court meted out a
lighter sentence to them since they provided clues and all the
abducted children were rescued.
(Xinhua News Agency
December 14, 2007)