Custody of buried infant examined

The baby boy who was allegedly buried alive in Shandong province has been put into temporary custody at the welfare center for children in Taian city, according to the province's civil affairs department, iqilu.com reported.

The department said Wednesday the baby is receiving medical examinations at a hospital, and is in stable condition.

In accordance with the police investigation, authorities will take appropriate measures to arrange the boy's custody properly, protecting the rights and interests of the infant.

When reports showed local authorities planned to return the baby's custody to his parents, opinions from Chinese netizens showed they were worried whether the parents could take good care of him.

The male infant was discovered buried underground in a remote mountain in Jinan on Aug 21 and was sent to hospital. Rural doctor Zhou Shanghong paid the medical cost, which totaled about 50,000 yuan ($7,075).

On Oct 20, Liu Yuzeng turned himself in at the Yangliu police station of Xintai, a county-level city under Taian near Jinan, capital of Shandong. He said he was the grandfather of the boy, the child was born with serious diseases and the family gave up medical treatment and buried him after they found him "dead" at home.

According to local media, although Zhou's father said she wanted to adopt the baby, Zhou's family was not qualified and the civil affairs bureau of Laiwu district in Jinan has been considering sending the boy back to his family.

An official from the bureau said, "We have not decided whom to hand the infant over to, but we will stick to decisions by the civil affairs bureau of Xintai city and public security departments, and cooperate with them."

The Xintai government released a report last Sunday, saying the civil affairs bureau of Xintai city and the government of Liuyang town are stepping up efforts to take care of the infant and settle his custody.