Woman in China gets death sentence for trafficking 17 children including her own son

A woman in China was given the death penalty for trafficking 17 children, one of which was her own son.

Yu Huaying, 61, was tried for a second time last Friday (Oct 25) and found guilty.

She was then stripped of her political rights and had her assets seized, said the Guiyang Intermediate People's Court in a statement on the same day.

Yu was found to have repeatedly trafficked 17 children from 1993 to 2003 in various areas, including Guizhou province, Chongqing and Yunnan province.

She would then transfer her victims to Handan in North China's Hebei, where they were sold through intermediaries, said the court.

Her first victim, in fact, was her biological son whom she trafficked and sold for 5,000 yuan (S$928), reported Chinese state media.

"In order to seek illegal profits, Yu Huaying... [caused] the separation of 12 families and the severing of family ties," said the court.

"The circumstances and the consequences of the crimes are extremely serious, and she should be severely punished."

"Although she confessed, it is not enough to give her a lighter punishment," the court added.

While Yu was initially convicted of trafficking 11 children in her first trial held last year, six more instances were discovered during the retrial which sought to clarify certain facts about her crimes, reported Global Times.

Yu's deeds were uncovered in 2022 when victim Yang Niuhua, 34, came forward with her experience and the 61-year-old woman's arrest garnered public attention, reported China Daily.

Yang was kidnapped by Yu, her neighbour at the time, in a village in Zhijin county of Guizhou province in November 1995. She was then sold for 3,500 yuan to a family in Hebei province, reported the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

Upon connecting with her biological sister through Douyin in April 2021, Yang discovered that her parents had died young due to the grief of losing her.

After she was kidnapped, Yang's father turned to alcohol and her mother developed mental problems, reported SCMP.

"I had imagined some scenarios for why my parents did not find me... I guessed they were divorced or got a son later.

"But I didn't expect that they would die because of the deep depression from losing me," Yang said.

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bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com