 | Chinese courts are sentencing those convicted of trafficking women and children severe sentences, official figures show.
Death and jail sentences that range from five years to life imprisonment are considered "severe". Between January and July, 1,238 "severe" sentences were handed down to those found guilty of trafficking women and children, up about 75 percent year on year, Sun Jungong, spokesman with the Supreme People's Court (SPC), told a news conference Tuesday.
"Severe" sentences accounted for 57.9 percent of all women and children trafficking cases, compared with the average severe sentence rate for criminal cases of 15.96 percent, Sun said.
However, he didn't say how many were sentenced to death or life imprisonment.
In one major case, He Cong was executed "recently" for kidnapping 12 children, including seven infants, in south China's Guizhou Province between March 2006 and July 2007 to sell to villagers in central China's Henan Province.
In March, the SPC, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Public Security issued a circular calling for heavier penalties for the trafficking of women and children.
The circular urged a focus on the bosses of major trafficking groups, repeat offenders and those kidnapping children.
According to Sun, courts across the country handled 1,233 women and children trafficking cases between January and July, up 45 percent year on year.
Sun said the increased number was due to a special crackdown launched in April 2009 by the Ministry of Public Security.
Furthermore, the SPC warned those buying trafficked women and children by publicizing a case in which a woman was sentenced to two years in jail with a three-year reprieve.
In that case, Li Zhongmei, after bearing two daughters, paid a local child trafficker 36,000 yuan (5,300 U.S. dollars) for a baby boy from Xinzhou City in north China's Shanxi Province in 2008.
Later, Li introduced another person to the trafficker, which led to another deal for a male infant.
Many Chinese, especially the elderly and those in rural areas, believe a boy is better than a girl because a boy can carry on the family name.
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