Chinese police rescue baby allegedly sold by doctor

Police on Sunday rescued a newborn who was allegedly sold to human traffickers by an obstetrician in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

Six suspects involved in the human trafficking have been arrested.

The baby was recovered in a township in Anyang City of central China's Henan Province at around 3 a.m. Sunday, but DNA tests must be conducted to confirm its identity, said a statement by the Fuping county government in Shaanxi.

The baby was in good condition, the statement said.

The baby boy was allegedly sold for 21,600 yuan (3,494 U.S. dollars) by an obstetrician from Fuping County Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital one day after he was born on July 16, according to the government.

The doctor, surnamed Zhang, has been detained on suspicions of human trafficking, local police said Friday.

Police said Zhang allegedly obtained the baby by falsely claiming that the child had congenital diseases, convincing the mother to abandon treatment and allow the doctor to handle the baby.

The mother, a woman surnamed Dong, later realized that her baby might have been abducted and reported the case to police on July 20.

Two people from Shanxi Province surnamed Pan and Cui, who purchased the baby from Zhang, were also detained. They sold the baby for 30,000 yuan.

The hospital's head Wang Li and her two deputies were sacked on Sunday over the trafficking case.

Local police said they are also investigating five other similar cases which also allegedly occurred in the same hospital.