On May 16^th, one woman who took her four-month-old son, fainted when walking on the road between the park green belt because she suffered from hypokalemia and ever fainted. When she waked up, she found her son disappeared. At the same day, the Zhoukou office published a warning notice, and at the same night they issued a reward notice to identify that this case is a case of stealing baby and offer a reward of 50000 yuan for information. On the night of May 18^th, under pressure, the suspect surrendered himself to the police, and the baby has been sent to Zhoukou safely. But on May 20^th, some media reported that this incident was directed and acted by the woman because of her family conflicts. Many of the people who involved in this case have been detained.

If this case was truly directed and acted by the woman, she maybe is suspected of crime of abandonment. But if not, how should we definite the behaviour of stealing baby?

Should stealing baby be defined as larceny? Stealing money, telephone and so on can be defined as larceny, but stealing baby cannot. The object of larceny is others’ public or privacy property, so baby as human beings should not be defined as the object of larceny. As for the definition of the behaviour of stealing baby, the criminal law stipulates that it varies according to the purpose of the theft.

First, the article 240, paragraph 6 of the criminal law stipulates that, whoever steals an infant for selling shall be convicted the crime of abducting and trafficking children and bear the punishment. Second, the article 262 stipulates that, abducting a minor under the age of fourteen, separating them from their families or guardians, shall be convicted and punished for the crime of abducting children. The major difference between abducting and abducting as well as trafficking lies in the suspects’ intention. The intention of abducting and trafficking is to sell the infant while the intention of abducting is to adopt or order rather than sell. If the suspect’s original purpose is for adoption, but selling the infant after adoption, the suspect shall be convicted the crime of abducting and trafficking children because of the subsequent act of selling. Last, the paragraph 3 of the article 239 stipulates that, those who steal infant for the purpose of blackmail shall be convicted the crime of kidnapping by force and bear the punishment.

So, committing theft dose not necessarily constitute larceny. Theft is only the style of offence, and the specific conviction depends on the intention of suspect.

More specifically, the article 4 of notice of cracking down the crime of abducting and trafficking women or children, issued by the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, Police Office, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Justice and All-China Women's Federation, stipulates that, whoever abducted and trafficked women or children, regardless of the link involved, as long as they intend to sell the women or children, and engage in any of the acts of abducting, kidnapping, buying, trafficking in, transporting, transferring or harbouring women or children, shall be convicted the crime of abducting and trafficking women or children and bear the punishment regardless of the number of trafficking and whether they make a profit.                   

If they sell their natural children, how shall they be convicted and punished? The article 4 stipulates that, those who sell their own natural children shall have their illegal income confiscated by the police office and shall be fined according to law. Those who sell their natural children under fourteen for profit with serious circumstances of the case, and those who abduct and traffic children in the name of adoption or sell the children they picked up, shall be investigated for criminal responsibility for the crime of abducting and trafficking children. Those who sell their female relatives over fourteen years old or another relatives under fourteen years old, shall be convicted the crime of abducting and trafficking women or children and bear the punishment.

Shall those who only buy the children constitute a crime? The paragraph one of article 241 of the criminal law stipulates that, those who buy the abducted and trafficked women or children, shall be convicted and punished for the crime of buying an abducted woman or child. The paragraph 4 stipulates that, those who buy the abducted and trafficked women or children first but sell them later, shall be convicted the crime of abducting and trafficking women or children and bear the punishment.