Senior doctor suspended for surrogacy scandal in Jiangxi

A senior doctor was removed from office and suspended from practicing for one year due to a surrogacy scandal, according to a statement issued on Thursday by the local health authority in Yifeng county, Jiangxi province.

The suspension is in response to an allegation of surrogacy involvement at the county's People's Hospital late last month.

On March 26, Shangguan Zhengyi, a Sina Weibo user with 300,000 followers, alleged that Wu, the head of obstetrics of the hospital, was colluding with surrogacy agencies and receiving bribes for arranging multiple surrogate births.

He said that after each delivery, the agency disguised cash as a gift in fruit baskets for Wu. The total amount Wu received reached more than 10,000 yuan ($1,380).

The local authorities said on Thursday that Wu, who was only given the surname in the statement, had all illegal gains confiscated and was fined 20,000 yuan. It said the hospital got a warning and a fine of 35,000 yuan.