2 held for abducting baby girl from park

TWO suspects have been detained after a web of lies and deceit reached its climax with the abduction of a baby from a park in suburban Shanghai on Tuesday, police said.

Police in Qingpu District were informed at 3pm that a 10month-old baby girl had been taken away by a woman.

The baby girl was playing in a park in Liantang Town with her grandfather when the grandfather left her briefly in the care of a middle-aged woman he had seen before, police said. When he returned after 10 minutes he found both his granddaughter and the woman were gone.

Police said they found the baby along with the two suspects, a 40-year-old man surnamed Yang and a 46-year-old woman surnamed Deng, in a rented apartment in the same town about 10:45pm that evening.

On investigation, police discovered a tale that began last year. The suspects, Deng and Yang, are in a relationship. Deng said she took the baby home as Yang had been demanding to see their child recently — a child he had never seen and who he believed was in her hometown.

Deng had lied about having given birth to their child when, in actual fact, she terminated the pregnancy last year when she was about six months pregnant.

Police from Liantang Police Station said they quickly tracked the suspects down via street surveillance cameras.

Yang was spotted with Deng and the baby girl on an e-bike. Police said they got Yang’s home address through the household registration system.

Deng faces a criminal charge of abducting a child under the age of 14, which could see her spend up to five years in prison. Considering her actions didn’t result in “bad consequences,” she is likely to receive a reduced sentence. Yang, will probably be released on bail.

The baby girl is in good health and has been reunited with her family, police said.