The Yulin City Intermediate People's Court in Guangxi...

The Yulin City Intermediate People's Court in Guangxi province, southern China, convicted 52 people for baby trafficking, sentencing the two ringleaders, Xie Deming and Cui Wenxian, to death in a case that came to light after they were caught transporting 28 baby girls in travel bags, state-owned media said. Four others received suspended death sentences, which are generally commuted to life imprisonment. Five received life in prison while 40 others were sentenced to at least 18 months in prison. One person was relieved of criminal punishment, the report said without explaining. The gang, which had bought and sold babies since 2001 and operated in four provinces, were caught after authorities acting on a tip-off found the 28 babies -- only a few months old -- stuffed inside bags on a bus in March 2003. Smugglers had fed the babies sleeping pills to keep them from crying. One was found dead. Xie, a local farmer, and other members of the smuggling ring, bought the 118 babies from other traffickers, medical workers and village midwives in Yulin city, paying as little as 100 to 200 yuan (12 to 24 US dollars) per baby. They sold them in the provinces of Guangxi, Henan, Anhui and Hubei -- some of the poorest in central China.