No deterrent

On Monday the provincial bureaus of public security, health and human resources, and family planning began a campaign against illegal medical practices -- particularly gender testing.

It was prompted by the convictions of five people in a gang that carried out 442 illegal fetal gender tests from Feb. 20 to April 28, including 250 pregnant women from Taizhou.

Headed by Wang Duo, 42, and his wife Liu Huaxia, 43, both from Yishang County of Anhui Province, none of the gang had medical licenses. They rented a van to offer mobile ultrasonic scans and induced abortions in a rented apartment.

Based in Ningbo, the gang was efficiently organized, with each member responsible for specific duties, including business development, medicines and equipment, vehicle escorts, testing and liaison.

The couple were previously each jailed for a year after being convicted of illegal medical practice. But after their release in 2006, they quickly returned to their old trade under false names.

On Oct. 25, in a public trial, the two were sentenced to jail terms of two and a half years each, with the other three members of the gang receiving sentences from six months to two and a half years.

Xie Leiguang, chief of the Politics and Law Department of Zhejiang Human Resources and Family Planning Bureau, says this is the maximum penalty after the provincial judicial and public security authorities issued a regulation in 2004 defining illegal gender testing illegal medical practice.

"Elsewhere in China, it's much more difficult to find a legal basis to impose a punishment," says Xie.

Statistics from Zhejiang Provincial Government show that from 2006 to 2009, the province recorded 163 such cases. This year alone, about 100 cases have been cracked in Cangnan and Pujiang counties.

Police say most of the perpetrators are unlicensed, but it is very difficult to obtain evidence against them as couples willingly seek their help and keep tight-lipped about their activities. Moreover, the perpetrators are mobile, which means inter-regional cooperation is essential, but jurisdiction conflicts stand in the way.