Pregnant thieves' gang on trial in Hangzhou
By Pan Zheng |
June 2, 2011, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A GANG of pregnant thieves went on trial in Hangzhou on Tuesday, after all the seized stolen goods were returned to their rightful owners on the same afternoon, Qianjiang Evening News reported yesterday.
The gang was a big one involving 46 women aged between 20 and 40, of whom 22 were pregnant and most of the rest had breast-feeding babies. Most came from Daoxian County of Hunan Province. They allegedly committed about 300 to 400 thefts in Hangzhou every month, and the value of the stolen goods reached 370,000 yuan (US$57,116).
According to police, one of the suspects had been caught 47 times while another had been pregnant eight times in the past 10 years. Normally, when caught, police would release them on bail because of their body condition.
The gang was eventually busted by Hangzhou police in April.
"In dealing with such pregnant criminals, interrogation is much tougher than simply capturing them," said Yu Weiqing, deputy director of Gongshu District Police Station. "Generally police stations don't have adequate medical facilities to deal with problems when detaining a pregnant woman."
But this time, the police made up their mind not to let the gang members get away. They rented an entire floor of the Hangzhou No. 2 People's Hospital to detain the suspects and posted over 100 policemen as guards.
During the detention, Hangzhou police organized experts of law and medicine to give lectures to the suspects, with Yu himself talking to each of the suspect to know more about them individually. On learning that some of the gang members had had abortions to avoid having children and to get pregnant again, the hospital held a special class for them, explaining the harmful effects of abortion.
"Initially most of them didn't want to talk," Yu told the newspaper. "But after we told them about the harm they had done to their health, they changed their attitude and often talked to us. Some even cried after the class."
According to the court, the trial would last at least for two or three days because of the large scale of the gang, and a verdict would be announced later.
The gang was a big one involving 46 women aged between 20 and 40, of whom 22 were pregnant and most of the rest had breast-feeding babies. Most came from Daoxian County of Hunan Province. They allegedly committed about 300 to 400 thefts in Hangzhou every month, and the value of the stolen goods reached 370,000 yuan (US$57,116).
According to police, one of the suspects had been caught 47 times while another had been pregnant eight times in the past 10 years. Normally, when caught, police would release them on bail because of their body condition.
The gang was eventually busted by Hangzhou police in April.
"In dealing with such pregnant criminals, interrogation is much tougher than simply capturing them," said Yu Weiqing, deputy director of Gongshu District Police Station. "Generally police stations don't have adequate medical facilities to deal with problems when detaining a pregnant woman."
But this time, the police made up their mind not to let the gang members get away. They rented an entire floor of the Hangzhou No. 2 People's Hospital to detain the suspects and posted over 100 policemen as guards.
During the detention, Hangzhou police organized experts of law and medicine to give lectures to the suspects, with Yu himself talking to each of the suspect to know more about them individually. On learning that some of the gang members had had abortions to avoid having children and to get pregnant again, the hospital held a special class for them, explaining the harmful effects of abortion.
"Initially most of them didn't want to talk," Yu told the newspaper. "But after we told them about the harm they had done to their health, they changed their attitude and often talked to us. Some even cried after the class."
According to the court, the trial would last at least for two or three days because of the large scale of the gang, and a verdict would be announced later.
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