POLICE in Zhengzhou, Henan Province are probing allegations that someone posted infant-for-sale ads in a local hospital, the official Xinhua News Agency reported today.
A man tweeted on a microblogging site three days ago that he saw ads on the wall of a hospital corridor, offering babies for sale. A Xinhua reporter dialed the given number and pretended to be a buyer. The advertiser said a potential buyer could take the baby right away after doing a health check in the hospital.
"We buy newborns from young mothers who cannot afford to raise their babies," he said. "We got the babies from northeast China. There is some arriving this afternoon." According to him, a boy costs 45,000 yuan (US$7,326) and a girl 30,000 yuan.
The reporter discovered that the advertiser was calling from Xingtai, a city in neighboring Hebei Province. He admitted that he never used local numbers.
The hospital said they had removed all the ads on the corridor walls and promised to strengthen management of advertisements on the premises.
Zhengzhou police said they haven't received any report on baby trafficking. "It is probably a fraud for money. We are investigating the case," a police official told Xinhua.
Bodyguard trainees experience 'Hell Week' in Beijing