A Chinese court on Thursday upheld the death sentence for Yu Huaying, 60, convicted of abducting and trafficking 17 children over a decade.

The Guizhou High People's Court rejected Yu's appeal and affirmed the earlier ruling by the Guiyang Intermediate People's Court, which sentenced her to death in October. The lower court found that Yu and her accomplices abducted children in Guizhou, Chongqing and Yunnan provinces between 1993 and 2003 and sold them to buyers in Hebei province.

The court said Yu's crimes devastated 12 families, some of whom spent years searching for their children. Others suffered fatal consequences, such as depression, the court said.

"The malice of the defendant was extremely deep, the circumstances of the crimes were exceptionally serious, and the consequences were severe," the intermediate court said in its ruling, which also stripped Yu of her political rights for life and ordered the confiscation of her personal assets.

In its statement Thursday, the Guizhou High People's Court said the evidence was sufficient, the law was applied correctly, and the sentencing was appropriate.

"Yu treated children as goods to be bought and sold, severely harming their dignity and personal freedom," the high court said, adding that her actions caused "immeasurable damage" to the victims' families.

Under Chinese law, death sentences issued by lower courts must be reviewed and approved by the Supreme People's Court before executions are carried out.

The case drew widespread public attention in 2022 after police in Guiyang received a complaint from a woman named Yang Niuhua. Yang alleged that Yu abducted her in Guizhou in 1995 and sold her in Hebei for 3,500 yuan ($480). Police arrested Yu in Chongqing soon after receiving the complaint.

Yu was initially sentenced to death last year for trafficking 11 children. She appealed, and the Guizhou High People's Court sent the case back to the intermediate court for retrial, citing new evidence.

In the retrial, prosecutors identified six additional victims, bringing the total number of trafficked children to 17. The intermediate court reimposed the death sentence in October.

Cheng Lei, deputy head of the Renmin University of China's Law School, said the retrial was necessary to ensure justice for all the victims.

China has intensified efforts to combat human trafficking in recent years. In March, authorities launched a nationwide operation targeting the trafficking of women and children, led by the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and various ministries.