Health commission investigates hospitals' sale of fake birth certificates

The National Health Commission is overseeing an investigation into the sale of counterfeit birth certificates in some regions, it said on Friday, vowing to crack down on the practice.

The commission said it had dispatched supervision teams to Xiangyang in Hubei province, Foshan in Guangdong province and Nanning in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region to urge local authorities carry out thorough probes, respond to public concerns and hold people accountable.

Hospitals in the three cities allegedly sold fake birth certificates to cover up the trafficking of children, prompting local authorities to detain hospital administrators and shut down their operations.

The case was first exposed on Nov 6 by a netizen who went undercover at a hospital in Xiangyang for a year.

Birth certificates are essential legal documents used to obtain household registration at local public security bureaus.

The commission said it would clamp down on actions that harm the rights of children and the public and disrupt normal healthcare services — with special attention to be paid to the business of forging birth certificates.

It will also cooperate with public security officers to crack down on criminal offenses involving the buying and selling of birth certificates and hold related medical personnel accountable.

The commission will guide medical institutions to improve management mechanisms and procedures for birth certificates and launch a nationwide inspection of related practices.