Twin baby girls stolen and sold by an obstetrician who delivered them have been recovered by police.

The girls, born last month at the Fuping County Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital in the northern province of Shaanxi, were allegedly victims of the same doctor who sold a baby boy reunited with his parents earlier this week.

The obstetrician, Zhang Shuxia, told the twins' mother in the delivery room that her babies had "deadly congenital diseases" and convinced her give them up, China National Radio reported yesterday.

Zhang also said their arms and legs were "broken" and stopped other relatives from seeing them.

Similar details were described in reports this week about the boy, who police said was sold to a farmer with three daughters in the central province of Henan by traffickers for 60,000 yuan (US$9,800).

Zhang obtained the infant by falsely claiming that the boy had congenital diseases, convincing the mother to abandon treatment and allow the doctor to handle the baby.

The boy's family became suspicious and reported their case to police. The blaze of publicity surrounding his recovery has prompted others to come forward with similar cases.

One of the twin girls was found in Shandong Province, more than 500 kilometers from her birthplace in Fuping, and her sister around 160 kilometers away in Shanxi Province, People's Daily reported yesterday, citing local authorities.

9 suspects detained

The doctor and eight other suspects in connection with trafficking of babies were detained, local government said yesterday.

So far five officials have been sacked in Fuping, including the director of the county's health department and the head of the hospital where the children were born, Xinhua news agency reported.

Police had received reports of 55 possible cases of missing babies by Thursday, including 26 allegedly involving Zhang, Xinhua added.

Lou Qinjian, governor of Shaanxi, on Thursday called the case "vile" and vowed to punish those responsible seriously, it said.

Trafficking of children is a serious problem in China.In December, police rescued 89 children and arrested 355 suspects after breaking up a series of child trafficking rings.