23 people get sentenced in Wenzhou child trafficking case

An undated photo shows the defendants being taken to court. [File Photo: Xinhua]

25 defendants were found guilty and 23 were sentenced in the Wenzhou child trafficking case in which 26 children were trafficked to different provinces, according to the verdict by the intermediate people's court in Wenzhou, east China's Zhejiang province, on Friday, November 4, 2016, reported by Xinhua.

According to the investigation by the court, the criminal group was organized and had a complete distribution chain worked out for their crimes.

 From early 2013 to June 15, 2015, some of the convicted defendants were responsible for trafficking children, some were responsible for running the business, some for driving to procure children and some for feeding and taking care of the children.

The 25 defendants came from Cangnan which is the most southern part of Zhejiang province, other urban areas of Zhejiang province, and Yunnan province. Most of the defendants are illiterate or have only a primary school education level.

The man surnamed Zhang, the ringleader and a main focus of the case, was involved with the trafficking of 20 children receiving an illegal income of 145,048 yuan (21,478 USD). 

His girlfriend was involved with the trafficking of 17 children and received an illegal income of 35,600 yuan (5,271 USD). 

Zhang confessed that he and his girlfriend had spent nearly all the illegal income they had earned since they didn't have any other job besides child trafficking.

In addition, the other 23 defendants involved with child trafficking to different extents from 1 to 8, with the highest illegal income of 231,000 yuan (34,205 USD). 

One of the defendants, a doctor surnamed Li, took advantage of his job as a doctor and got involved with child trafficking which in turn triggered great social attention. 

The doctor was involved with the trafficking of 4 children.

According to the verdict by the court, the 25 defendants formed a group to commit the crime of child trafficking and were found guilty. 

Zhang received the death penalty and all of his possessions were to be confiscated. The doctor surnamed Li was deemed as causing great negative influence on society and got a heavy penalty of a 13-year sentence and a fine of 70,000 yuan (10,365 USD).