Seven Executed For Selling Women

Chinese authorities have executed seven people convicted of selling women, an official newspaper said Friday.

The seven, among 61 people tried in the case, were executed by gunshot after sentencing on May 31 by the Fuyang City Intermediate People’s Court in Anhui province, east China, the China Consumers Daily said.

Police rescued 334 women who had been sold into marriage or prostitution, the newspaper said. Others tried in the case were given suspended death sentences, which can be commuted to life imprisonment with good behavior, or jail terms, the newspaper said without providing details.

State-run newspapers often carry reports of women being sold as wives or prostitutes. The newspaper said that in the poor area where the case occurred, a woman could be bought for $240 to $360.