China’s ‘Kidney for iPad’ Trial Opens, 5 Facing Prison Terms

The young man, identified as Wang, showed his post-operation scars last year when the grim case first emerged.

Remember that dismal story of the young Chinese man who sold his kidney to buy an iPad last year? Justice is now close to being served, with the trial underway of five people who were arrested in April this year. They’re charged with being central to the illegal kidney transplant and are now facing up to 10 years in prison. Four others are also in the dock having assisted in the operation, but face only fines.

Under the spotlight at the trial – at the People’s Court in Beihu District of Chenzhou, Hunan province – are the surgeon and the fixer who arranged it all via online chatrooms. Song Zhongyu is the surgeon who performed the operation in April 2011, earning himself 52,000 RMB (US$8,228) from the kidney which was actually worth $35,000 when they sold it on the black market. The arranger and mastermind, He Wei, profited to the tune of 56,360 RMB ($8,920). The three others facing jail terms also got substantial cuts of the money.

The young man at the centre of the case, identified only by his surname, Wang, is said to be in poor health on his remaining kidney. He got only 22,000 RMB (about $3,000) for his harvested organ, with a chunk of that earmarked by the man to buy a new iPad. But with no social safety net in terms of healthcare in China, Wang is facing hardship as his kidney-related medical expenses will likely exceed the money he got from the sinister deal. Wang suffered from renal failure shortly after the surgery.

The trial opened yesterday, and heard how the fixer, He Wei, was penniless and mired in gambling debt in early 2011 when he first hatched the plot with a few associates to lure someone into an illegal transplant. They even leased an operating room from a hospital contractor, who’s also in the dock.

Wang’s lawyers are seeking as much as RMB 2.27 million ($359,000) in compensation. The trial continues, and we’ll let you know when a verdict is reached.

[Source: People’s Daily]