Court hears appeal of child abduction case

A father who searched for his missing son for 24 years and finally found him called for two convicted child traffickers to receive the death penalty when an appeal hearing began in Shandong province on Thursday.

The Liaocheng Intermediate People's Court heard new evidence — not yet disclosed — from Guo Gangtang, whose son was one of four children abducted by the two defendants in 1997 and 1998.

Guo told the media on Thursday that during the original trial, seven family members of the victims testified, and a new relative of one of the kidnapped children provided testimony on Thursday.

According to China's Criminal Law, people convicted of trafficking women or children face prison terms ranging from five to 10 years, along with a fine. In cases where the individual is the ringleader of a trafficking group or where three or more women or children are trafficked, the sentence can be extended from 10 years to life imprisonment. And in severe circumstances, the death penalty with property confiscation can be imposed.

The original trial began on July 7 last year at the Liaocheng court, which handed down sentences on Dec 27.

Hu Fuji was sentenced to death for the crime of child trafficking with a two-year reprieve. He also lost his political rights for life, and the court ordered all his personal property be confiscated.

The other defendant, Tang Lixia, was found guilty of the same charge. She was sentenced to life imprisonment, with her political rights also stripped for life and her property ordered seized.

After the sentencing, Guo applied to the prosecution to file an appeal seeking harsher punishment, while Hu appealed against the severity of his sentence. Tang chose not to fight the ruling.

Guo's son was 2 when he was abducted on Sept 21, 1997, near his home in Shandong. The case garnered widespread attention when Guo's experience was adapted into a movie, Lost and Love, in 2015, with the lead role played by Hong Kong actor Andy Lau.

In July 2021, six years after the film's release, Guo and his family were reunited with his son, who had been found in Henan province. Hu and Tang were arrested later that year.

During last year's trial, the court found that Hu and Tang had trafficked four children, including Guo's son, between 1997 and 1998, and that Hu and others had trafficked another child in 2001.