Chilling moment wandering young boy is abducted by a woman in broad daylight before being rescued by police in China
- The child had been out with his grandfather before he suddenly wandered off
- He was then spotted by a stranger while walking on the street alone, police said
- Chilling footage shows the woman speaking to the boy before scooping him up
- Authorities have reunited the youngster with his family and detained the suspect
A young boy has been reunited with his family in China after he was snatched away by a stranger in broad daylight while wandering on the streets alone.
Chilling surveillance footage shows a woman speaking to the lost youngster before scooping him up and carrying him as they walked through the neighbourhood in southern Chinese province Guangdong.
Police have detained the alleged abductor under the suspicion of child trafficking after being notified by the boy’s parents, according to reports.
A young boy has been reunited with his family in China after he was snatched away by a stranger in broad daylight while wandering on the streets alone. The pictures above show screenshots of the CCTV footage in which the woman with the little boy in Guangzhou
The child and his young sibling were taken outside to play by his grandfather in the city of Guangzhou before the terrifying incident occurred on August 4.
While the grandparent was looking after the younger child, the boy suddenly wandered off by himself and disappeared, his mother told Pear Video.
Local police immediately launched an investigation after being contacted by the distraught family.
‘We checked through CCTV footage as soon as we received this case,’ an officer told reporters: ‘The child had run onto a road after the family failed to watch over him properly.
The child and his young sibling were taken outside to play by his grandfather in the city of Guangzhou before the terrifying incident occurred on August 4, according to Chinese media
The pictures above are screenshots of the CCTV footage in which the Chinese woman is seen picking up the youngster and walking on a street while carrying the boy in Guangzhou city
‘He was then spotted by this middle-aged woman who appeared to have said something affectionate to the child. The child then started following her,’ the official added.
A clip shows the Chinese woman picking up the youngster and walking on the streets of Guangzhou while carrying the boy.
They then got on a coach and travelled to Yingde, a city 139 kilometres (86 miles) away from where the boy’s family lived.
After locating the pair’s whereabouts, the authorities rushed to the city of Yingde about three hours after the woman had arrived there.
The police eventually found the suspect with the young boy in a ‘dark, dingy rented flat’, the officer told Chinese media.
The woman is said to have been in shock when the authorities force-opened the door and seized her.
After locating the pair’s whereabouts, the authorities rushed to the city of Yingde about three hours after the woman had arrived there. The police eventually found the suspect with the young boy in a ‘dark, dingy rented flat’, a police officer in Guangzhou told Chinese media
The abducted child was successfully rescued and reunited with his parents (pictured) 11 hours after he went missing, the police said. He appeared to have been unhurt during the incident
When confronted by the officials, the suspect claimed that she was taking the child to meet up with a friend.
She has been taken into custody under the suspicion of child trafficking amid an ongoing police investigation.
The abducted child was successfully rescued and reunited with his parents 11 hours after he went missing, the police said. He appeared to have been unhurt during the incident.
Human trafficking has been a serious issue in Chinese society. Although there are no official figures, media reports suggest that between 20,000 to 200,000 youngsters are snatched away from their families in the country every year.
Some are bought, some are simply stolen. They end up as labourers, in forced marriages or as the adoptees of wealthy families, either in China itself or overseas.
The news comes as a 60-year-old Chinese mother has been reunited with her 34-year-old son who was abducted at the age of two after she searched for him tirelessly for over three decades.
The parent, Li Jingzhi, had spent the last 32 years travelling across China on a quest to look for her child, nicknamed Jia Jia, after he was kidnapped on the street in 1988, reported Chinese media in May.
Why is child abduction a serious problem in China?
Around 200,000 boys and girls are reported to be missing every year in China
Child abduction is a serious problem in China, especially in rural areas.
One major cause is that the Chinese families prefer sons to daughters, resulting in them buying baby boys.
In addition, a severe gender gap – a result of four decades of one-child policy – has made it hard for Chinese men to find wives. Therefore, teenager girls are sometimes kidnapped and sold as child brides.
Child abduction remains a sensitive topic to the Chinese authorities. No official figures have been released on how many children are kidnapped in China every year.
However according to a 2013 report on China Nation Radio, around 200,000 boys and girls are estimated to be missing every year. Among them, only 200, or 0.1 per cent, would be able to find their parents at some point of their lives.
A survey shows that around 64 per cent of the kidnapped children in China are boys
But other recent reports have estimated that the estimated number could fall anywhere between 20,000 and 200,000.
Baobeihuijia, a website specialised in connecting families with their missing members, has conducted a survey on the kidnapped children in China based on 8,861 cases listed on their website.
The survey shows that around 64 per cent of the kidnapped children are boys and more than 75 per cent of the kidnapped children are under the age of six.
However, among those who are abducted over the age of 13, there are more girls than boys.
The survey also claims that children under the age of four are most likely to be abducted in China.