BEIJING: High-profile human trafficker Yu Huaying appealed for leniency in sentencing for the abduction of 11 children in the 1990s, as she pleaded guilty during her second trial for the crime held by the High People’s Court of Guizhou province on Tuesday.
Yu, her defense lawyer and prosecutors expressed their opinions on the facts of the case and sentencing, she also gave a final statement to the court. The court will issue its verdict at a later date.
The second trial followed Yu’s appeal against the death sentence handed down by the Guiyang Intermediate People’s Court, Guizhou province, in September.
Yu, from Yunnan province, was found guilty of abducting and selling 11 children from Chongqing and Guizhou between 1993 and 1996, and her actions constituted the crime of child abduction, according to the Guiyang court.
She carried out the abductions with a man surnamed Gong, who died during the course of the case. Two other individuals, surnamed Wang and Yang, who participated in the abductions, have been dealt with in separate cases, the court stated.
Despite Yu confessing to her crimes after being arrested, the court imposed the death penalty on her, deprived her of political rights for life, and confiscated all her personal assets. This sentence was justified due to the large number of children abducted, and the offenses were deemed extremely serious, having a significant negative impact on society, the Guiyang court said. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
