A court in southwestern China yesterday sentenced 51 members of a ring for trafficking 118 babies across the nation.

Police rescued 41 of the infants in March.

The six main organizers of the ring were sentenced to death, reported the Intermediate People's Court in Yulin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Two were given a two-year grace.

Another five members were imprisoned for life. The remaining 40 convicts were given jail terms of at least?1.5 years.

The ringleader, Xie Deming, 58, was a villager in the city's Fumian District. Six of Xie's family members were involved in the baby-trafficking business.

Starting from 2001, Xie and the six family members bought 45 baby girls on 44 occasions from medical workers and illegal midwives in Fumian District, the court said.

They sold the infants to others including Cui Yongxian, a native of Yongcheng in central Henan Province; and Zhang Xiaogao of Bozhou, Anhui Province.

Cui and Zhang brought the babies to Yongcheng and Bozhou and sold them to other human traffickers.

Of the 28 babies rescued by police on March 17, 23 were bought by Cui and Zhang from Xie.

Cui trafficked 24 babies. He was also blamed for the death of a trafficked baby. He gave the infants sleeping pills to prevent them from crying and carried them in suitcases. One baby died when discovered by police in Binyang County at a checkpoint on March 17.

Xin Lifang and her husband Chen Shancai were also villagers in Fumian District. Xin and Chen trafficked 27 and 23 babies respectively.

Twelve medical workers?-- mostly nurses and pediatricians in Fumian?-- were involved in the smuggling ring.

They were paid between 100 yuan (US$12) and 200 yuan per baby.

(Shanghai Daily July 24, 2004)