Baby bodies found in bags.

Twenty-one baby bodies have beeSave Nown found floating in yellow bags on a riverbank in Eastern China. It is believed that a local hospital dumped them in the river. One of the bags was marked "medical waste." Some of these innocents wore I.D tags with their mother's names, birth dates, measurements and weight. Some were several months old.

Residents found the remains under a bridge over the river Guangfu in Jining, Shandong province at the weekend.Eight tags traced the babies back to Jining hospital. Three of the eight had been admitted previously in a critical condition. the other thirteen were unidentified. The sexes were not reported. In China boys are preferred in rural areas as they ill become workers for the family when they grow up. Daughters need a dowry in order to marry.

Gender selection abortions are illegal in China but the practice is wide spread and the sex ratio is 119 boys to each 100 girls. In industrialised countries the ratio is 107 to 100. An official has confirmed that Jining hospital was involved and an investigation is under way. Some medical staff have been suspended.