The Guiyang Intermediate People's Court sentenced defendant Yu Huaying to death on Monday for child trafficking. The court found that between 1993 and 1996, Yu and a few others had abducted and trafficked 11 children at various places, including Guizhou province and Chongqing municipality.

Even though the crimes took place a long time ago, Yu deserved the death penalty as her crimes posed a danger to society.

According to legal provisions, if the maximum statutory penalty is life imprisonment or the death penalty, prosecution may not be pursued if 20 years have passed. However, for heinous crimes, prosecution can be initiated even after 20 years with the approval of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

The punishment meted out to Yu is in accordance with the law and echoes the public's call for a crackdown against "human traffickers".

There have been successful prosecutions in cases where individuals committed grave and heinous crimes. In the case of child trafficking, because of the severity of the crime, individuals like Yu cannot escape the reach of the law.

Yu was caught by chance, as one of her victims was able to identify her more than 20 years later. Thanks to public awareness and a crackdown by law enforcement agencies, child trafficking is increasingly difficult to commit these days, as the space for illegal activities is continually shrinking.

With the intensified crackdown and rigorous law enforcement by various authorities, an increasingly huge net is being cast around human traffickers, and more families are being reunited with their lost ones. Like Yu, all human traffickers will ultimately find it difficult to escape the law.

Beijing News