Chinese police have helped more than 1,400 homeless or abducted children return to their homes through DNA matching as part of efforts to fight human trafficking since 2009, the Beijing News reported on Sunday.

Chen Shiqu, director of the anti-human trafficking office of the Public Security Ministry, said cases of child abduction had been more easily cracked since a DNA database was applied across the country in 2009.

Chen said the ministry ordered in April that all street children of unknown origin should have their DNA collected and checked against the nation's DNA database of children reported missing from June 1, 2009.

The system raises an alert when the sample matches a lost child, and the system had been very effective in helping police solve cases, Chen said. After the lost children were found, police would double-check the information before returning them to their parents, Chen said.

If the children involved were over 16, police would respect their opinion over whether they should return to their parents and would not force them to go back home against their will.

Since April 2009, police nationwide have solved more than 39,000 human trafficking cases, busted 4,885 criminal gangs and saved 14,600 children and 24,800 women, according to the ministry.

Shanghai police said child abduction cases were rare in the city. However, they have been using the DNA system since last year.

In a recent case, police said they were helping a street circus boy found in the city's Jinshan District to get back home.

The teenager said he had been abducted about 10 years ago at the age of five.

He came to the attention of police when the circus group he was staying with was the subject of a routine check in the district early this month.

The boy told police he did not know who he was, as he was too young when he was abducted to remember very much.

He has been given accommodation at a local shelter while the police try to track down his parents. They are believed to be from the provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan or Hubei. Police had posted his details on their microblog and had gained valuable feedback, they said.

Last July, police in Shanghai rescued a 13-year-old boy from an illegal circus in suburban Fengxian District.