Two desperate gamblers who turned to child trafficking after losing all their money were among a gang of seven who appeared at Haidian district court on Wednesday.
Chen Yongjun and Liu Honggang, both 41, snatched at least one child in January 2010 before selling him to buyers in Hebei province.
On Jan 19, the duo, who were broke because of gambling, contacted accomplice Ji Mingyu about the chance of making extra cash by trafficking children. Shortly after, they kidnapped 2-year-old Peng Jinchuan on a street in Haidian.
He covered the boy with a coat and put him on Chen's tricycle and fled, later selling the tricycle for a ticket on an illegal minibus to Hebei that night.The boy's parents reported him missing 30 minutes later, prompting police to identify the two suspects with the help of closed-circuit television.
However, Peng was still handed over to Ji, who contacted local go-between Wang Zhi. Within a short time, the toddler was sold to an elderly couple in a nearby village for 38,000 yuan (S$7,380). Wang is said to have lied to the couple that Peng was an illegitimate child.
"The couple bought the boy for their son and his wife as they can't have baby," said Haidian prosecutor Wang Chenghao in court.
Peng was eventually returned to his family, while two other babies are still in the State custody as their parents are yet to be found.
Prosecutors suggested a sentence of at least 10 years for Wang for his part in trafficking three children. The other five offenders, including Liu and Chen, face between five and 10 years. Sentencing is pending.
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