According to BBC's Celia Hatton: "Zhang Shuxia was a respected doctor who had won quite a few awards in the province where she worked." She has been given a suspended death sentence after being found guilty of trafficking 7 babies.
Zhang Shuxia was found guilty of abducting and selling seven babies in Fuping, Shaanxi province, the sentencing court said.
She told parents their infants had serious diseases and convinced them to give up the babies, the court said.
Zhang has been sentenced to death, with a two year reprieve.
Suspended death sentences are normally commuted to life imprisonment in China.
According to a judgement posted on the Weinan Intermediate People's Court's verified microblog on Tuesday, Zhang sold seven babies to child traffickers between November 2011 and July 2013, including a pair of twins
Six of the babies were either returned or rescued by police, but one that was voluntarily abandoned by its parents and sold for 1,000 yuan ($165) in April later died.
dailymail.co.uk
Zhang Shuxia, an obstetrician involved in baby trafficking, standing trial in Weinan Intermediate People's Court in Weinan, Shaanxi province on December 30, 2013
Image via dailymail.co.ukZhang worked in Fuping county in the northwestern province of Shaanxi.
Zhang, who worked in Shaanxi's Fuping Maternal and Child Healthcare Hospital, used fabricated reports
"Zhang used her position as medical personnel to fabricate reports about the infants, saying they suffered from birth defects or diseases that were hard to cure," the court said in its judgement.
"She abducted and sold several new-born infants, violating professional and social ethics," the judgement added.
It is not yet clear whether Zhang will appeal, the court said.
theguardian.com
Zhang and several other suspects were arrested after the most recent abduction case in July 2013
The parents reported the case to police after they suspected their baby had been trafficked.
The baby was found and returned to his parents in early August.
A Chinese nurse looks after a baby rescued from child-traffickers in a hospital in Xichang, Sichuan province, on December 18, 2012
Image via google.comPolice said they were still investigating 50 related cases, including 26 cases linked to Zhang, and several other suspects were in criminal detention, Xinhua news agency reported.
google.comFour other officials from the hospital are on trial for suspected dereliction of duty and are awaiting sentencing, Xinhua added.
On Chinese social media, netizens condemned Zhang's actions, with many calling for the death penalty
"She obliterated her humanity, and conducted unspeakable acts under a cloak of legality - only executing her will level the people's anger!" microblog user China Luo Jian wrote.
Zhang Shuxia was given a suspended death sentence on Tuesday for abducting newborn babies and selling them to traffickers, in a case that drew widespread outrage.
Image via thestar.comHowever, user Wen Jin Rang wrote: "For such a criminal, sparing her life will serve a greater educational purpose than killing her."
Meanwhile, Sina Weibo user Doctor Fei Ge described Zhang as the "scum of the medical profession, who damaged the reputation of doctors".