Chinese boy, 6, has eyes gouged out for organ transplant black market
Reuters
First posted: Wednesday, August 28, 2013 07:46 AM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, August 28, 2013 10:36 AM EDT
BEIJING - Chinese police are hunting for a woman suspected of gouging out the eyes of a six-year-old boy, possibly to get her hands on his corneas to sell on the organ transplant black market, state media reported on Wednesday, a crime which has horrified China.
The boy, from northern Shanxi province, was lured into a field on Saturday by the woman, where she gouged out his eyes and left him in a pool of blood, only to be discovered by his parents hours later, Chinese media reported.
While his eyes were recovered, doctors were unable to save his sight and he is now blind, the official Xinhua news agency said.
The China News Service said his corneas had been removed, likely to be sold on the black market.
However, Xinhua said police have "initially ruled out the possibility of organ trafficking involvement in the case".
Police are offering a reward of 100,000 yuan ($16,300) for the capture of the woman suspected of the crime, Xinhua added.
The case has become the most widely searched for term on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo microblogging service, with people calling for swift justice to be meted out.
"What kind of terrible person could do this? Let's unite together to find the criminal," wrote one Weibo user.
Supply of organs and other body parts for transplants in China falls far short of demand due in part to the traditional Chinese belief that bodies should be buried or cremated intact.
An estimated 300,000 patients are waitlisted every year for organ transplants and only about one in 30 ultimately will receive a transplant. Many organs come from executed prisoners, a practice China is trying to phase out.
The shortage has driven a trade in illegal organ trafficking.
Chinese boy, 6, has eyes gouged out for organ transplant black market | World | News | Toronto Sun
Aunt suspected of gouging out Chinese boy's eyes
Reuters
First posted: Wednesday, September 04, 2013 02:04 AM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, September 04, 2013 02:11 AM EDT
BEIJING - Chinese police suspect a six-year-old boy's aunt of gouging out his eyes, Xinhua state news agency said on Wednesday, the latest twist in the investigation of a crime that shocked the country.
DNA tests found the boy's blood on the aunt's clothes, Xinhua reported, citing a statement from police in Linfen in rural Shanxi province.
The aunt, Zhang Huiying, killed herself six days after the attack by jumping into a well, the agency said.
The boy was lured by a woman with yellow-dyed hair into a field while he was playing outside. She gouged out his eyes and left him in a pool of blood, Xinhua reported.
Chinese media reports last week linked the crime to China's burgeoning black market for organs, as police had initially said the boy's corneas were missing.
But police later reported that the corneas were not missing.
Photographs and videos of the boy have circulated widely online since the attack, the most searched term on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo microblog service on Wednesday, with internet users trying to understand what many saw as an incomprehensible act of violence.
"Now it turns out the person who destroyed this child's whole life may be a close relative," wrote one user. "It's hard not to feel helpless and bitterly disappointed... how painful."
State media has previously reported on organised gangs that abduct and maim children from the countryside so they can work as beggars, but there was no evidence that that was the motive in this attack.
Aunt suspected of gouging out Chinese boy's eyes | World | News | Toronto Sun
Reuters
First posted: Wednesday, August 28, 2013 07:46 AM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, August 28, 2013 10:36 AM EDT
BEIJING - Chinese police are hunting for a woman suspected of gouging out the eyes of a six-year-old boy, possibly to get her hands on his corneas to sell on the organ transplant black market, state media reported on Wednesday, a crime which has horrified China.
The boy, from northern Shanxi province, was lured into a field on Saturday by the woman, where she gouged out his eyes and left him in a pool of blood, only to be discovered by his parents hours later, Chinese media reported.
While his eyes were recovered, doctors were unable to save his sight and he is now blind, the official Xinhua news agency said.
The China News Service said his corneas had been removed, likely to be sold on the black market.
However, Xinhua said police have "initially ruled out the possibility of organ trafficking involvement in the case".
Police are offering a reward of 100,000 yuan ($16,300) for the capture of the woman suspected of the crime, Xinhua added.
The case has become the most widely searched for term on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo microblogging service, with people calling for swift justice to be meted out.
"What kind of terrible person could do this? Let's unite together to find the criminal," wrote one Weibo user.
Supply of organs and other body parts for transplants in China falls far short of demand due in part to the traditional Chinese belief that bodies should be buried or cremated intact.
An estimated 300,000 patients are waitlisted every year for organ transplants and only about one in 30 ultimately will receive a transplant. Many organs come from executed prisoners, a practice China is trying to phase out.
The shortage has driven a trade in illegal organ trafficking.
Chinese boy, 6, has eyes gouged out for organ transplant black market | World | News | Toronto Sun
Aunt suspected of gouging out Chinese boy's eyes
Reuters
First posted: Wednesday, September 04, 2013 02:04 AM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, September 04, 2013 02:11 AM EDT
BEIJING - Chinese police suspect a six-year-old boy's aunt of gouging out his eyes, Xinhua state news agency said on Wednesday, the latest twist in the investigation of a crime that shocked the country.
DNA tests found the boy's blood on the aunt's clothes, Xinhua reported, citing a statement from police in Linfen in rural Shanxi province.
The aunt, Zhang Huiying, killed herself six days after the attack by jumping into a well, the agency said.
The boy was lured by a woman with yellow-dyed hair into a field while he was playing outside. She gouged out his eyes and left him in a pool of blood, Xinhua reported.
Chinese media reports last week linked the crime to China's burgeoning black market for organs, as police had initially said the boy's corneas were missing.
But police later reported that the corneas were not missing.
Photographs and videos of the boy have circulated widely online since the attack, the most searched term on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo microblog service on Wednesday, with internet users trying to understand what many saw as an incomprehensible act of violence.
"Now it turns out the person who destroyed this child's whole life may be a close relative," wrote one user. "It's hard not to feel helpless and bitterly disappointed... how painful."
State media has previously reported on organised gangs that abduct and maim children from the countryside so they can work as beggars, but there was no evidence that that was the motive in this attack.
Aunt suspected of gouging out Chinese boy's eyes | World | News | Toronto Sun