Hospital director in China’s Hubei under investigation for selling birth certs

The director of a hospital in China’s central Hubei province is under investigation for selling birth certificates, with the hospital’s obstetrics and gynaecology department forced to suspend operations.
State media, the Global Times, reported, the case fuelled a flurry of online comments by Chinese netizens who said these birth certificates were likely to be used to register abducted children and prevent them from being found.
Other netizens said it may provide an option for registering surrogate children as surrogacy is illegal in China.
The Global Times said, the director earned more than 60,000 yuan ($8,200) for each certificate.
The hospital’s official website was under maintenance and no contact number listed on its official WeChat account.
The Health Commission of Xiangyang, a prefecture level city in northwestern Hubei, sent a special team to Jianqiao Hospital on Monday after being alerted to the case. It said, further updates will be provided based on the results of a full investigation.