Xia Fengge, whose daughter, the third child, was reportedly taken away at the order of the government officials of Quantou village in 1995, cries in Baoding, North China's Hebei province, on March 19, 2014. Xia submitted the case to a local court, asking Anxin county government, who has jurisdiction over Quantou village, to make information open by telling whereabouts of her daughter in 2012. The county government said they did not have that information in 2013. [Photo/CFP]

Although a traditional practice at that time, the behavior is unimaginable and unforgivable now.

People.com.cn criticized the act as tyrannical, which damages the image of the government.

It is a deviation of policy that an official uses his rationing power to abduct an outnumbered baby, people.com.cn reported.

When it comes to the reasons behind officials' zeal for such brutal act, political performance and social maintenance fee levy play an important role, the report said.

Many regions reportedly have implemented "one-vote negation system" in family planning work for quite some time in the past. The main officials, responsible officials and persons in charge in a region shall not be awarded or promoted if a resident in the jurisdiction violates the family planning law.

Under such pressure, some officials resort to extreme methods, including robbing babies, to meet evaluation standards, people.com.cn reported.

Besides, some officials regard social maintenance fee as a way of generating government fiscal revenue.