A six-year-old Chinese boy was attacked and had his eyes gouged out in what state media are describing as a possible attempt to sell his corneas on the black market.
Police say the boy was walking in a field Saturday in a rural area of Shanxi province, where his parents work as farmers, when he was attacked by an unidentified woman.
Local police said the boy's eyes were later found nearby. He is being treated at a hospital, but doctors were not able to save his sight.
The state-owned China News Service reported that the corneas had been removed from the eyeballs, apparently to be sold on the black market. Some police later rejected that report, saying the motive was not known.
Police have offered a $16,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the attacker. The story has prompted outrage among Chinese social media users, who are demanding justice be carried out.
China has suffered a shortage in corneas and other body parts for transplant, because of a lack of organ donors.
Police say the boy was walking in a field Saturday in a rural area of Shanxi province, where his parents work as farmers, when he was attacked by an unidentified woman.
Local police said the boy's eyes were later found nearby. He is being treated at a hospital, but doctors were not able to save his sight.
The state-owned China News Service reported that the corneas had been removed from the eyeballs, apparently to be sold on the black market. Some police later rejected that report, saying the motive was not known.
Police have offered a $16,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the attacker. The story has prompted outrage among Chinese social media users, who are demanding justice be carried out.
China has suffered a shortage in corneas and other body parts for transplant, because of a lack of organ donors.
