A newborn boy has been saved from the hands of an alleged human trafficker on a Chinese train thanks to a thoughtful worker on board.
The female suspect claimed she was the mother of the baby and was on her way to find her husband.
But when Liu Ruiguo, a transport police officer, saw the woman using cold water to make up baby formula, he became suspicious.
The woman (pictured), in China, claimed she was the mother of the baby when being asked
But Liu Ruiguo (pictured), a transport police officer, believed the passenger had been lying
The incident occurred on a train travelling from Chengdu in south-west China to Zhengzhou in central China on August 18.
According to Chinese news outlet, Kan Kan News, the transport police tried to serve the woman hot water as part of his job, and the woman refused.
However half an hour later, he saw the same woman preparing milk for the baby using cold water and he became suspicious of her identity.
Mr Liu and his colleagues approached the woman and questioned her.
The woman claimed that the baby was the youngest of her five children, and that she was taking the train to Anhui Province, where her husband worked, said Mr Liu.
The experienced officer then insisted on talking to the woman’s husband on the phone. After speaking to the man, Mr Liu found out that the husband was in Guangdong Province, not Anhui Province, and they had three children, not five.
Mr Liu became suspicious after seeing the woman preparing bottle milk with cold water. He approached her and questioned her before calling for officers to detain her
The situation became even more suspicious when the woman insisted on getting off the train earlier after making a number of phone calls. Mr Liu called upon more officers to help him detain the woman.
Faced with pressure, the woman eventually told the officers the truth.
Apparently, the woman had bought the baby, who was less than 10 days old, and she was taking the baby to Shandong Province to meet potential buyers. The baby’s gender has not been revealed.
The woman has been detained by the police and a DNA test has been carried out. The result confirmed that she was not the biological mother of the child.
The case is being investigated. Further details are yet to be revealed by the police.
The baby is currently being looked after by the Zhenzhou Institute for Children’s Welfare. The media are trying to help the baby look for its parents.