8 detained for forging and selling birth certificates in Hunan

The police of Hengyang, Hunan province has detained a person surnamed Wu and seven other people suspected of forging and trafficking medical birth certificates, CCTV News reported on Saturday.

The authorities of the local health and public security initiated an investigation into public concerns over allegations of doctors at the Hengyang Maternal and Child Health Hospital selling birth certificates.

The investigation found that Wu was dispatched by a biotechnology company to work as an employee at the hospital. The other seven people involved in the case are not employees of medical institutions.

Previously, media reported a woman claiming to be an employee of the hospital said she could help newborns who couldn't obtain birth certificates obtain a certificate. The entire process of getting a certificate would take around two weeks, and each birth certificate was reportedly being sold for 100,000 yuan ($13,785).

Further investigations are ongoing as part of the authorities' efforts to address this issue, according to the CCTV report.