Chinese woman sentenced to death for infant trafficking

Jiang Kaizhi, the prime culprit in the trafficking ring, was running an organised group to abduct babies in Yunnan and sell them in central Henan province from late 2009 to August 2010, according to the verdict issued by the intermediate people's court in the city of Qujing yesterday.

The court sentenced her to death for infant trafficking yesterday.

Thirty-five other members of the group, aged between 20 and 65, also received penalties ranging from life imprisonment to a three-year jail term for abducting, transporting and trafficking infants.

Jiang sold boys for 30,000 yuan and girls for 20,000 Yuan, the court said.

A total of 223 infants were sold by the infant trafficking ring.

Jiang was seized by the police in January 2011 during a crackdown on the ring.

Child trafficking is a major problem in China as thousands of children are abducted and sold to childless couples every year.