Orphanages in central China's Hunan Province have sold or traded at least 100 babies over the last few years, and authorities are investigating a crime ring that might be marketing children across China, a Changsha-based newspaper reported yesterday.

An unidentified orphanage worker reportedly told the newspaper that a Changsha facility was a "reliable client" and had bought many babies from the Hengyang County Orphanage.

"The worker said he couldn't bear the black-market business anymore and decided it was time to speak up," reporter Li Ling, who broke the story, told Shanghai Daily yesterday in a telephone interview.

Li said the worker told him the orphanage had sold babies to many other orphanages in Hunan and elsewhere, including Changsha, Binzhou, Zhuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Guangdong Province.

An official with the Hengyang County information office wouldn't confirm the news report when contacted by Shanghai Daily yesterday but did say the government was investigating the allegations and would punish anyone found guilty of breaking the law.

Li said his information was confirmed by a criminal investigator in Qidong County who spoke under conditions of anonymity.

Li said police believe at least 100 babies, between several months and 4 years old, have been traded between the orphanages or sold to others.

More than two dozen suspects have been arrested so far, according to the Sanxiang Metropolis News.

The paper said an alleged baby trader arrested in Hunan's Qidong County told police he has been selling babies to orphanages and social welfare institutions for years, making 800 yuan (US$99) to 1,200 yuan for each transaction.

The babies were then resold to other orphanages or childless couples for 8,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan each, the newspaper said.

The alleged trader, a Qidong County resident, also reportedly said that the orphanages were buying babies or trading them among themselves to qualify for additional government funding. Payments are allocated based on the number of babies an institution cares for.

Police have detained 27 managers and workers at the Hengyang County Orphanage since Monday, according to news accounts.

The suspects include Jiang Zhenghua, the orphanage's director; Wang Weihong, Party secretary of the orphanage, and He Yuhua, an accountant.

Police also confiscated a car at the orphanage, which it reportedly received as a gift from a similar outfit in Changsha.

(Shanghai Daily November 25, 2005)